A recent landfill collapse in Ghazipur, UP, has killed two people and caused injuries to many.
The incident calls for addressing the problem of over-stressed landfills and adopting proper waste management techniques in cities.
What led to this tragedy?
The Solid-Waste Management Rules, 2016 prescribes certain conditions for landfill sites:
a landfill site must not exceed 20 meters in height.
it must not be older than 22-25 years.
it must have a clay-lining at the bottom to save the land and ground water.
As against these specifications, the Ghazipur dump-yard is 50 metres high and almost 33 years old.
The other two un-engineered" dumping grounds in Delhi include Okhla and Bhalaswa sites.
Experts say that Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalaswa could not be called "landfill sites" but just "dumping yard", as they do not follow the prescribed norms.
A joint-efforts of rains, fire and excessive pressure due to running out of space led to the recent collapse of the site.
What are the flaws in the approach?
Following the tragedy, the National Green Tribunal questioned the Delhi government and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC).
The EDMC told the green court that it had moved a plea seeking allotment of land to develop new landfills.
NGT has rejected EDMC’s alternative landfill site at a new place on the grounds that the site falls in an environmentally-sensitive zone.
The issue here is that the heaping garbage is increasingly posing environmental and public-safety hazards.
Finding new landfills would only mean relocating the problem and not solving it.
Also, this is not a problem restricted to Delhi alone but is the case with most Indian cities handling municipal waste.
What is desired?
The tragedy calls for solving the unending waste management problems in Indian cities.
The 'un-engineered' dumping sites in the name of landfills should be transformed into "decentralised processing centres".
ex: Bio-methanisation plant could be an option.
These centres should carry on segregating waste at source into recyclables, organic wastes and toxic wastes.
Non-profits and educational institutions could be roped in to engage in public awareness campaigns.
Rather than having a one-size-fits-all approach, the waste problems of urban India should have a region centric approach based on the needs, demands and resources.
