Waste management: Balance of both community and administration

Currently, under the jurisdiction of EDMC, 2600 tonnes of waste is generated every day out of which only 1300 tonnes is processed in the plant at Ghazipur and the proposal made by EDMC to install a new waste processing plant near the Yamuna has been halted by National Green Tribunal (NGT). So, how are you planning to address this problem of shortage of land for waste management in your area?

I think you are a little short on the information. We collect waste from every household. In our area, 2000 – 2100 tonne of waste is generated every day, which is sent to the Ghazipur landfill site. Earlier we used to have garbage piled up on the roads but we have done significant work to address this problem. We have closed nearly 140 landfill sites. Earlier the garbage used to drop from the trucks during transportation but now these carrier trucks are closed and garbage is directly dumped into it and later compacted. As far as the processing of waste is concerned, we have called for proposals to process 50 lakhs tonnes of waste and it will be given to the lowest bidder. Right now, we have 25 trommel machines out of which 18 are old and seven are new. Moreover, 10 new machines will be added soon which will have six times more capacity than the old ones. Through these machines, we will be able to do away with an average of 9000 tonnes of waste every day, and in two and a half years, 83 lakhs tonnes of waste will be processed. Right now, 132 lakh tonnes of waste is stored in the landfill sites and we are targeting 133 lakh tonne of waste disposal by December 2024. We have asked for 12 acres of land to store fresh waste collected by the EDMC as fresh waste cannot be processed.

Last year, you initiated a plan under which you collected electronic waste from the people. So, what is your learning from this initiative and are you planning to resume it this year?

Under the initiative, people used to call, and then the team would reach their house to collect their old electronic devices and if they are not satisfied with the price offered, they could refuse to sell it to the agent. The collected e-waste is transported to the Bahadurgarh plant where it is processed. This waste does not generate any pollution inside Delhi and the owner also gets a decent price for their old device so it is a win-win situation for all.

In Gandhinagar market, which is also the largest textile market in Asia, often customers complain about congestion, open drains, traffic, and loose hanging overhead wires. How are you planning to deal with this?

As far as the situation at Gandhinagar is concerned, the responsibility rests with shopkeepers as well. They have started to encroach upon the road, which reduces the width of the road. As for the cleaning of road, our cleaning staffs sweep the road at somewhere around 7 am, but when the market opens, shopkeepers dump all the garbage on the roads which is main reason of waste lying on the streets. We have requested them not to continue this practice, we even distributed dustbins and have taken actions as well.

Did you get in touch with the unions regarding this issue?

We are in contact with the unions. The case is very similar to the Sadar Bazar area, there as well the shopkeepers have encroached upon the road. These shopkeepers should cooperate among themselves by taking turns to use the road and reduce the extra space they occupy on the road, along with that the market associations should play an active role.

Your plastic exchange policy has been appreciated by the people but even after the ban on single-use plastic bags, they are widely used. So how successful do you think your initiative has been?

To be honest, we haven’t achieved much success in it but we are working to create awareness, and have requested the people to not use the single-use plastic bags. We have even penalised the violators. The majority of users are street vendors and we don’t want to penalise them as the fine is far more than what they earn on daily basis. We are working in the field of awareness among the street vendors and right now 90 per cent of the shopkeepers are fully aware of the ban.

An initiative of licensing the food stalls has also been taken by the corporation, keeping the health of the customers in mind, but a majority of these food stalls are already covered under the Street Vendors Act, 2014. So, how this policy can ensure proper implementation running parallel to the act?

The Government of India will provide training to these vendors on how to manage the cleanliness and their food stalls. We have also asked these stall vendors to wear a distinct dress that will give them a different identity, always using gloves while serving, and using electronic payment methods. Many of them are already aware of these steps.

As we know, all three municipal corporations of Delhi are up for merger in coming time. So, what will be the effect of this merger on initiatives taken by you for waste management?

Currently, the civic bodies of Delhi are going through an economic crunch, many of the doctors, teachers, and cleaning staffs have not received their salaries for 4 to 5 months. This merger will save a lot of money as there will only be one place to maintain, instead of three, and we will get a lot of help from the central government which will increase the pace of development. We have requested for this merger, and we would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for adhering to our requests.

Right now, as there are three MCDs so people can have easy access to these offices but when there will only be one body, don’t you think it will adversely affect this ease of access for people?

That will not be the case, as Delhi may have a very big population but the area is very small and people will not have to travel more than 20 kms to reach the central office of the civic body. The ease of access is not related to the number of Mayors, but it depends on the willingness of the mayor in office. However, the work will continue through chairmen of different zones, even after the merger, and they will have similar powers and functions as of the mayor.