Enraged at the DDA's allocation of land in Geeta Colony for an alternative dumpsite, residents have voiced their concerns loud and clear.
People protesting
If EDMC was facing a mountain of a problem tackling waste management at the Ghazipur landfill, it has a bigger problem now coming up with an alternative waste-dumping site. And why wouldn't it? Who would want to live next to a mountain of garbage, inhaling toxic gases emanating from it every day?
Right now, the city generates as much as 2,300 tonnes of waste every day!
However, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the only land-owning agency in the city, has allocated 11 acres in Geeta Colony to be turned into a dumpsite. Naturally, its residents aren't happy. Hundreds of them sat on a dharna to oppose this decision today.
Even EDMC mayor Neema Bhagat, who is the municipal councillor for the area, joined the protest.
Residents protesting near Rani Garden, where the land has been allocated, said, “We will not allow a landfill site to come up in the area.”
Ajay Arora, one of the protesters, told City Spidey, “If a landfill is set up here, more than 50 lakh people will be affected. The allocated land is part of the area's green cover, so turning it into a landfill site is also a violation of NGT’s guidelines.”
Sushma Singh, another protester, said, “There are five schools near this piece of land. We will not allow our children’s lives to get affected.”
Last Saturday, about four EDMC trucks dumped drain silt at the site. Next morning, residents were up in arms in protest, even setting up a barrier on their own to block the entry of more trucks to the area.
They said they had also met EDMC commissioner Rajveer Singh to air their grievances.
After the collapse of the Ghazipur landfill on September 1, 2017, claimed two lives, EDMC had to come up with an alternative site to dunp drain silt in East Delhi. But it had faced tremendous resident uproar when it had allotted a piece of land in Rani Khera in north Delhi last year.
After two-week-long protest, EDMC had to revoke its allocation. But it seems adamant to stick to the site in Geeta Colony.
According to sources, EDMC has even enlisted the supoort of local police to be able to dump silt in the area at night.
EDMC mayor Neema Bhagat, EDMC commissioner Rajveer Singh and EDMC chief engineer PK Kahndelwal, along with other municipal officials, inspected the area this afternoon.
Talking to City Spidey, Khandelwal said, “DDA has allotted this land to EDMC for two years. Residents think we are setting up a landfill site here, but we are only using this area to dump silt, as the Ghazipur landfill cannot accommodate any more."
