The South Delhi Municipal Commissioner (SDMC) will soon set up Delhi’s first “Engineered Sanitary Landfill Site” at Tehkhand which will be operational by March 2023, said SDMC Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti.

The engineered landfill site will differ from a conventional landfill site in nature as it will ensure disposal of garbage in a technical & scientific manner.

According to the Commissioner, “The site is being set up by  SDMC which will be developed by digging approximately 7-meter (Avg)deep pit and a  thick layer of soil will be poured at the bottom and thereafter 3 layers of the liner of different categories will be put on and pipeline will be laid in-between  layer of gravels through which leachate will travel & finally goes to the leachate treatment plant .”

Bharti informed that over the layer of gravel, the top layer of liner and a layer of soil will be put on it and the site will be ready for use.

“With this method and technology, the leachate material coming out of garbage does not pollute groundwater and soil. While, at traditional landfill sites, mainly dumping of garbage takes place resulting in garbage pileup and seepage of toxic materials below the ground and contamination of groundwater as well as soil,” he added.

The Commissioner, while describing the Engineered Sanitary Landfill Site, said that Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had allotted a piece of land, measuring 47.5-acre, in Tehkhand to the SDMC.

“A waste-to-energy plant is being set up at 15 acres of land while E-SLF is being set up at remaining 32.5 acres with the cost of Rs 42.3 crore,” he said.

This E-SLF will be used to dispose of nearly 360 metric tons of ashes per day after processing 3600 metric tons per day by the SDMC operated the waste-to-energy plant at Okhla and waste-to-energy plant which is under construction at Tehkhand.

SDMC is making efforts to make the city “Garbage Free”. Its’ emphasis is to dispose of garbage at zonal level and to execute this, various measures have been taken at ward level like segregation of dry and wet waste at source level by collaborating with the RWAs, promotion of home composting, setting up of bio-methanization plant, installation of pit composter, etc, added Bharti.