DPCC gives conditional nod for MCD to dump WtE ash at landfill

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to reuse the approximately 1,200 tonne per day (TPD) of ash generated at the Capital's four Waste to Energy (WtE) plants, noting that, if dumped, such a large quantity of ash will exhaust the new engineered sanitary landfill (ESL) at Tehkhand in only six-and-a-half years.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

Granting a six-month conditional consent to operate (CTO) for the ESL, DPCC said, "The committee has underlined there is substantial (1,200 TPD) of ash (fly ash and bottom ash) generated from the existing four operational WtE plants at Okhla, Bawana, Ghazipur and Tehkhand in Delhi. The disposal of this quantity of ash from the WtE plants in the low-lying areas or at dumpsite or even at the ESL is not a solution to the problem."

The January 11 communique states that DPCC allotted the CTO at a meeting held on December 27, during which the committee looked at possible problems that may arise from the site.

"This ESL will also get filled soon and then MCD will again start seeking another piece of land.

Delhi cannot afford to have such a graveyard of ESL sites and land is a precious resource in Delhi.