Page 64 - Plastcs News August 2017

IN ThE NEWS

Delhi’s Bhalswa landfill to be developed into a green belt

elhi’s largest landfill site -- Bhalswa in northwest Produce Market Committee, Azadpur, for transferring eight
DDelhi-- is finally set to be developed into a green acres of land near the landfill. The land belongs to the
belt. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has taken committee and can be used for composting green waste in
the decision based on a report shared by the Delhi the future. Last year, the North DMC had shared a plan for
Development Authority recently. A North MCD official said reclaiming the landfill site. It had appointed a consultant
to evaluate the cost and time needed to reclaim the 40
acres of land. “The consultant informed that the process
will cost R 900 crore and years in complete reclamation.
We don’t have this much time and money to invest in the
project,” said senior North MCD official. Commissioned in
1993, the Bhalswa landfill site became functional in 1994.
But due to lack of any garbage management laws, the site
turned into a mountain of garbage.Though the landfill ran
out of space in 2007, the municipality continues to dump
trash here in the absence of space elsewhere.

Union Ministry plans to

revise India's PCPIR policy
DDA conducted the study on the Lieutenant Governor’s he Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers
direction to find out the calorific value of garbage dumped Tis planning to revise the Petroleum, Chemicals
here for years. “The report said the garbage at the and Petrochemicals Industrial Region (PCPIR) policy
landfill lost its calorific value and can’t be used as fuel 2007 after three of the four PCPIRs failed to achieve
for generating electricity or for embankment of roads. So the “des ir ed
the civic agency is considering the option of covering the success”. Rajeev
place with soil and developing integrated lawns. It would Kapoor, Secretary,
be used as a picnic spot in future,” said Praveen Gupta, Department of
commissioner, North MCD.
Chemicals and
In the absence of alternative sites, the civic body has been Petrochemicals,
dumping garbage at the Bhalswa landfill though it crossing said barring Dahej
its capacity years ago. Every day, 3,000 metric tonnes of PCPIR, where the
waste is dumped here2,000 from the North and 1000 from anchor tenant
the South Corporation. But before initiating the process oNGC Petro-additions Ltd (oPaL) has initiated
of landscaping the Bhalswa landfill, the corporation will operations, the remaining three at Vishakhapatnam-
need an alternative site to dump waste. So the North Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, Paradeep in odisha and
Corporation has simultaneously started working on a Cuddalore-Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu have not made
project to establish a waste to energy plant on 12 acres any significant progress.
of land adjacent to the landfill to process newly generated Kapoor said during his address at the 6th Petrochemical
garbage. “We will need buyers for the power generated Conclave organised by the Union Ministry of Petroleum
at the waste-energy plant and a letter has already been and Natural Gas, “The key issue is that the industry
written to the department of power, Delhi government in feels that the anchor tenant in the PCPIR is not
this regard. Also, we will need space to dump the residue sparing feedstock for downstream units and they are
generated from the plant,” said senior North Corporation converting the available polymers into bulk polymers.
official The civic agency is talking to the Agricultural

Plastics News | August 2017 64