Minister Sirsa visits Okhla landfill site, promises garbage mountain will 'vanish like dinosaurs'

IANS May 15, 2025 357 views

Delhi's Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa made a bold promise to eliminate the city's notorious garbage mountains. During a site visit to Okhla landfill, he declared that 90% of the waste will disappear by December 2025. The BJP-led administration is aggressively pursuing PM Modi's clean city vision by targeting daily waste removal. This ambitious plan aims to transform Delhi's landfill sites into green zones, marking a significant environmental milestone.

"These garbage mountains you see will vanish like dinosaurs" - Manjinder Singh Sirsa
Minister Sirsa visits Okhla landfill site, promises garbage mountain will 'vanish like dinosaurs'
New Delhi, May 15: Delhi Minister for Environment, Forest and Wildlife, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, on Thursday visited the Okhla landfill site and reiterated the BJP government's commitment to removing the towering garbage mounds from the national Capital, declaring that they will "vanish just like dinosaurs" in the coming five years.

Key Points

1

Delhi targets 8,000 metric tonnes daily legacy waste removal

2

BJP commits to transforming landfill sites into green zones

3

Three major landfills currently store over 160 lakh tonnes of waste

Sirsa was accompanied by BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh during the visit.

Speaking to IANS at the site, Sirsa said, "Today at the Okhla landfill, the promise made by Prime Minister Modi to eliminate the garbage mountains that Delhi has become known for, is being actively worked on by the Delhi Chief Minister. I want to say that these garbage mountains you see will vanish like dinosaurs. By December 2025, 90 per cent of it will no longer be visible. This is our target for 2028."

"Just like dinosaurs have vanished, these landfills will vanish from the national Capital. We have already reclaimed most of the area, and by October, another 20 lakh metric tonnes of waste will be removed," he added.

BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri also spoke during the visit, expressing optimism about the progress.

"Today, I am happy to learn from the municipal corporation officials that, as informed to the respected Minister Sardar Sirsa and the Mayor, this garbage mountain will be cleared before 2026. The area will be developed as a green zone. This is the dream of our PM Narendra Modi and our Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta," he said.

"We are witnessing this dream come true. I express my heartfelt thanks to Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Mayor Sardar Iqbal Singh, and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Thank you very much for making Delhi clean," he added.

Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh also highlighted the BJP-led administration's commitment.

"We came to see the progress because we had made a promise to the people of Delhi for a clean, healthy, and garbage-free city. Cleanliness is now being taken up personally by our PM Modi and CM Rekha Gupta. Leaders like Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and others are also actively involved," he told IANS.

"We are fulfilling the pledge to eliminate the garbage mountains, a vision of our respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he added.

In a push to accelerate the waste removal process, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been instructed to ensure that the newly-appointed contractor achieves a daily target of clearing at least 8,000 metric tonnes of legacy waste within four to five months.

Delhi currently has three major landfill sites -- Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur -- with the Ghazipur site being the largest. Collectively, these landfills store more than 160 lakh tonnes of legacy waste.

Despite multiple earlier promises to clear the mounds, the deadlines have been pushed back several times.

The MCD's most recent revised timeline sets the final clearance deadline to December 2028.

Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
Finally some action on these garbage mountains! But "vanish like dinosaurs" is such a strange comparison 😅. Hope they stick to the timeline this time. We've heard similar promises before but the landfills keep growing taller than Qutub Minar!
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Priya M.
As someone living near Okhla, I'll believe it when I see it. Every winter when pollution peaks, politicians remember these landfills. What about proper waste segregation at source? That's the real solution, not just shifting garbage from one place to another.
A
Amit S.
Good initiative but 2028 deadline is too far! Delhi's air quality suffers because of these landfills. Why can't we adopt technologies like waste-to-energy plants that other countries use? We need faster action for public health. 🇮🇳
S
Sunita R.
The green zone plan sounds wonderful! Imagine children playing where garbage mountains stood. But please involve local residents in planning - we need parks, not another commercial complex. Also, what about rehabilitating waste pickers who depend on these sites?
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Vikram J.
Dinosaurs went extinct naturally, but these garbage mountains are man-made disasters! Instead of poetic comparisons, we need transparent progress reports. How much waste cleared each month? Where is it going? Public dashboard would build trust.
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Neha T.
While I appreciate the effort, why only focus on visibility? The real test is whether the underlying waste management system improves. What stops new garbage mountains from forming? Need systemic change, not just photo ops at landfill sites. 🤔

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Tags:
Delhi Landfill Manjinder Singh Sirsa Narendra Modi Waste Management Environmental Cleanup