The Delhi Municipal Corporation is making a strong push to improve the way we handle waste in our city. They are currently in the process of awarding contracts for the second phase of a project that involves using biomining to tackle the older waste found in three large garbage dumps.
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The process of selecting agencies to carry out biomining of 30 lakh tonnes of old waste at the Okhla and Ghazipur landfill sites is already underway. Meanwhile, for the Bhalswa site, this process is set to kick off next month, as per insider information.
To address the growing waste issue, the authorities are bringing in more agencies to work at the three landfill sites. This move will allow us to process an additional 90 lakh tonnes of waste. Currently, there are three agencies in operation, each assigned to one of the three landfill sites. Their task is to process 30 lakh tonnes of waste each within a span of two years.
As per the plan, an extra agency will be assigned to each landfill site to manage the processing of 30 lakh tonnes of garbage.
Once the tenders are allocated for phase 2, each landfill site will aim to process about 60 lakh tonnes of garbage within a two-year period. If any agency manages to finish the work before or within the specified timeframe, they will be given the opportunity to handle an extra 15 lakh tonnes of garbage. This information has already been communicated to the agencies to motivate them to work efficiently.
These terms have been included as part of the tender process, as explained by officials.
To make sure that only reliable and effective contractors take part in the bidding process, the municipal body has introduced a condition in the tender proposal. This condition states that contractors who have failed to meet deadlines in previous projects will not be eligible to participate.
According to the contract terms, the concessionaires are also required to provide their own equipment for the project.
In November 2022, the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) initially awarded contracts to handle 90 lakh tonnes of old waste, with 30 lakh tonnes allocated to each of the three landfills: Bhalswa, Okhla, and Ghazipur. Up to this point, out of the total 280 lakh tonnes of old waste that had accumulated in these three landfills, 90 lakh tonnes has been successfully processed.
The decision to undertake biomining was made following a directive from the NGT (National Green Tribunal) back in 2019.
In addition to ramping up the biomining efforts at the landfills, the municipal body is also taking steps to manage other types of waste effectively. This includes dealing with inert waste, refuse derived fuel, and construction and demolition waste that is generated as a result of processing the older waste.
The goal is to create more space at the landfills by promptly addressing these different waste streams.
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Currently, our city generates a daily waste amounting to over 11,300 tonnes. Fortunately, 8,713 metric tonnes of this waste are processed every day. Out of this processed waste, more than 7,400 tonnes are sent to Waste to Energy plants located at Okhla, Narela, Ghazipur, and Tehkhand.
These remarkable plants are capable of producing 23 Megawatts, 24 MW, 13 MW, and 25 MW of electricity each day, contributing significantly to our power supply.
Apart from the Waste to Energy plants, a portion of the waste, roughly 543 tonnes, is processed at composting plants, while over 750 tonnes are handled at material recovery facilities. The remaining fresh waste, which totals around 3,500 metric tonnes daily, is disposed of at the Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfill sites. It’s worth noting that there’s no fresh waste being dumped at the Okhla dumpsite.