Fresh dump poses roadblock

Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa's 12-month timeline for flattening the Bhalswa landfill faces multiple challenges, as the project started five years ago has encountered multiple deadline revisions and delays.

- Paras Singh

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday kicked off the process of transforming a five-acre area of reclaimed land at the Bhalswa dump yard into a bamboo park, which is proposed through the plantation of over 54,000 saplings over the next month.

Speaking on the occasion, the CM said biomining at all three landfill sites will be expedited and the height of waste brought down, even as Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa promised to flatten the Bhalswa mound by March 2026.

CM Gupta said that within a year, the government will ensure that the height of the landfill is reduced and green land is developed so that projects can be started.

"The double engine government is working on double speed and our target is to ensure a clean Delhi. LG looked after this project for the last few months with great effort. The work being done and the targets that have been set, the central government has a big role to play. The materials removed from this site are being used in several projects of the NHAI and leveling of DDA grounds. We will carry out observations on a monthly basis, and we will visit all three landfill sites," Gupta said.