MCD Plans Waste Facility Expansion After NGT Slams Ghazipur Landfill Operations
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has submitted a corrective action plan to ramp up waste processing facilities at the Ghazipur landfill site in East Delhi. The plan, detailed in a municipal affidavit dated July 6, comes in response to severe operational deficiencies flagged by a National Green Tribunal (NGT) appointed commissioner during an inspection in April.
The commissioner's report highlighted major flaws that continue to hinder the clearance of legacy waste at the landfill, which was originally established in 1984. Key issues include the poor disposal of fly ash, subpar performance of the site's waste-to-energy (WtE) plant, and long-standing gaps in leachate disposal.
According to the report, the Ghazipur landfill currently holds 6.9 million tonnes of legacy waste. Although a biomining project initiated in 2019 has cleared approximately 6.76 million tonnes, the site continues to receive 2,200 to 2,400 tonnes of fresh garbage daily. About half of this daily waste is dumped directly onto the landfill, while the other half is sent to the WtE plant.
The commissioner found that the 1,300 tonnes per day (TPD) capacity WtE plant is underutilized and prone to frequent breakdowns. Furthermore, hazardous fly ash from the plant is being spread across municipal waste and the local approach road. The report also criticized "inadequate" leachate management, noting that the flow of leachate through temporary "katchaa" drains has remained unresolved for five years.
To address these deficiencies, the MCD outlined several expansion measures in its July 6 affidavit. The civic body plans to add an extra processing line to the existing WtE plant to increase its capacity to 1,700 TPD. Additionally, the MCD is planning a new 2,000 TPD WtE plant and has sent a proposal to the electricity regulator to fix power rates.
To manage fresh waste, the MCD is setting up an 800 TPD plant at Pocket C of the integrated freight complex Ghazipur site. An agreement with the operating agency was finalized on July 1, 2026, with 120 days granted for the commencement of operations. The MCD also plans to establish a 300 TPD compressed biogas plant on a 10-acre plot handed over in January 2026, alongside another 300 TPD biogas facility for cattle dung.
With the current biomining contract set to end in September, the MCD has invited new tenders to continue waste remediation, with bids scheduled to open on July 24.
