Progress in bio-mining at Bhalswa landfill: Target to eliminate garbage mountain by December

Delhi’s Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood on Friday paid a visit to the Bhalswa landfill site to review the progress of garbage mountain remediation and inspect the ongoing work.

Sood emphasized that the government is committed to making the capital clean, green and pollution-free, and is continuously working towards the scientific remediation of landfill sites. “Eliminating garbage mountains from the capital remains one of the government’s top priorities, and remarkable progress has been achieved in the bio-mining and waste disposal works underway at Delhi’s landfill sites,” minister added.

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He emphasized that the Rekha Gupta led government’s objective is not only to remove these garbage mountains but also to redevelop these sites for public use so that the residents of the national capital can benefit from a cleaner and better environment.

During the review of the ongoing bio-mining and waste disposal work at the Bhalswa landfill site, Sood said efforts are underway to complete the work before the monsoon, without waiting until December. He informed that the pace of work has increased significantly after nearly 40 acres of land were cleared, and issues including pending payments to contractors have been resolved.

According to the minister, during 2025-26, a record 74 lakh tonnes of waste were processed across Delhi’s three landfill sites, while Bhalswa and Okhla landfill sites are targeted to be completely remediated this year.

He informed that work at the Ghazipur site is also being accelerated after the availability of additional land, with the work continuing on a war footing to eliminate these garbage mountains.

Addressing concerns related to heat and fire incidents, the Minister stated that all necessary safety arrangements have been made, while precautions are being taken considering the risk posed by methane gas.
Water, ORS and other facilities have been arranged for workers, and it has also been suggested that during extreme heat conditions, longer work shifts should be carried out at night instead of day.

He shared that currently 24 trommel machines equipped with air density separators are operational at the site, each having a capacity of 400 tonnes per day.
In addition, 45 mobile excavators, 7 bulldozers, 450 to 500 workers and 2 weigh bridges are engaged in the work.