Delhi has begun work on three new waste-processing plants and a 300-tonnes-per-day biogas facility as the city seeks to address a daily municipal waste treatment gap and prevent fresh garbage from accumulating at its landfills. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta laid the foundation stones for the projects on Saturday and inspected the Okhla landfill site, according to officials cited by The Indian Express.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is setting up the new fresh-waste processing plants at Okhla, Singhola and Ghazipur. Together, they will add 2,900 tonnes per day of processing capacity. The Okhla facility will process 1,400 TPD, while the plants at Singhola and Ghazipur will have capacities of 800 TPD and 700 TPD, respectively.
Delhi generates around 13,500 tonnes of municipal waste every day, while the MCD currently processes about 60 per cent of the waste generated in the city. The additional facilities are intended to narrow the gap between daily waste generation and the quantity being scientifically processed, reducing the amount of fresh waste sent to existing landfill sites.
A separate 300-TPD biogas plant is being established at Ghazipur to process biodegradable waste. The move also targets cattle dung entering city drains and contributing to pollution in the Yamuna. An MCD survey identified approximately 125,000 cattle across Delhi, generating roughly 1,500 tonnes of dung each day. Central and state authorities had directed the civic body to intercept this waste before it reaches drains and waterways.
The new projects are being developed alongside two additional decentralised fresh-waste processing plants with a combined capacity of nearly 3,000 TPD. Officials said these facilities are expected to become operational in the coming year. Biogas plants at Goyla and Ghoga are scheduled to be operational within the next two months.
During her inspection of Okhla landfill, Gupta reviewed waste disposal, reclaimed land and the capacity of the proposed processing facilities. She directed officials to make the new units operational at the earliest and ensure that they function at full capacity.
The capacity expansion is taking place alongside efforts to clear legacy waste from Delhi’s three landfill sites at Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur. Government figures cited in the report show that 217.17 lakh metric tonnes of waste have been removed from the sites over the past 18 months, freeing nearly 100 acres of land.
MCD officials said the Okhla and Bhalswa landfill sites are expected to be cleared within three months. The target for clearing Ghazipur has been set for December 2027. Gupta said removing existing legacy waste would not be sufficient unless Delhi also strengthens the system for processing waste generated each day, as this is necessary to prevent new garbage mountains from forming.