On World Environment Day, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Friday held a meeting to brief councillors and officials on new solid waste management rules framed in line with Supreme Court directions. The civic body also stressed waste segregation at source and scientific disposal of garbage.
The meeting was chaired by Delhi Mayor Pravesh Wahi. Deputy Mayor Monika Pant, Standing Committee Chairperson Satya Sharma, Leader of the House Jai Bhagwan Yadav, MLAs Shyam Sharma, Ravinder Negi and Anil Sharma, MCD Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar, additional commissioners, deputy commissioners and other senior officials attended it.
Addressing the gathering, Wahi said the meeting was organised to support the Centre’s Swachh Bharat Mission and the Delhi Government’s vision of a clean and beautiful city. He said councillors must understand the new rules so that implementation can be effectively monitored at the ward level. NGO representatives and waste-management experts gave presentations on the revised framework and the responsibilities of urban local bodies under the new regulations. The mayor urged councillors to spread awareness about waste segregation at source. He said wet waste should be processed locally for composting, while recyclable dry waste such as paper and glass should be sent for recycling. He added that the new system would segregate waste at four levels.
Wahi also reiterated the corporation’s commitment to clearing Delhi’s legacy waste. He said the three major landfill sites at Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur would be phased out at the earliest.
To familiarise elected representatives with waste-processing infrastructure, the MCD will organise visits to landfill sites and waste-to-energy plants across the city from June 7 to June 12, he said.
During the meeting, the mayor also informed councillors that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had convened a meeting of various departments after the recent hotel fire in Malviya Nagar that claimed several lives. He directed the MCD Commissioner and all Deputy Commissioners to attend the meeting.
