New Delhi: With the start of the New Year, the countdown has begun for Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to flatten two of the city’s three landfills. While July 2026 is the deadline for flattening the Okhla dumpsite, Dec has been set as the target for Bhalswa. The deadline for Ghazipur — Dec 2027 — is still almost two years away. All three deadlines were reaffirmed by MCD in its latest submission to Delhi govt on Dec 18.To speed up biomining and flattening work, the civic body has initiated the process of hiring a third agency, allowing operations at all three landfill sites to run simultaneously. A second agency is already engaged at the sites, and officials said parallel execution of the third phase will significantly reduce delays.An MCD official said several issues earlier stalling progress have been addressed. The Supreme Court continues to monitor the project, while Centre has released the requisite funds. The standing committee is also in place to give necessary approvals. “During monsoon, biomining slowed during three months but is gaining speed now,” said the official.MCD has missed landfill remediation deadlines at least four times, citing financial constraints and the absence of a standing committee. The repeated extensions have drawn criticism from environmental watchdogs and residents living near the dumpsites, who have complained of pollution, health risks and safety hazards.According to MCD data, 161.31 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of waste was processed at the three landfills between July 2022 and Dec 23, 2025. Despite this, a massive 133.5 lakh MT of legacy waste remains and must be treated by Dec 2027.Progress across the sites is uneven. About 4,000 MT of fresh waste continues to be dumped daily at Ghazipur and Bhalswa, complicating remediation efforts. Moreover, silt generated from drain desilting operations and ash from waste-to-energy plants are also being dumped at these sites. Due to acute space constraints, MCD recently resumed dumping at Okhla too.Phase II of biomining is currently underway at the three sites. Under this phase, the target is to process 30 lakh MT of waste each at Bhalswa and Ghazipur — extendable by another 15 lakh MT each — and 20 lakh MT at Okhla, extendable by 10 lakh MT, within an 18-month period.Among the three landfills, Bhalswa has recorded the most progress, with over 23 lakh MT of waste processed between Jan and Nov 2025 under Phase II. Okhla processed 17.7 lakh MT during the same period, while Ghazipur lagged at 10.2 lakh MT.Ghazipur’s slow pace is a persistent concern. During Phase I, the site processed barely nine lakh MT of waste against a target of 45 lakh MT in 18 months. Once towering at nearly 65 metres — just eight metres shorter than Qutub Minar — the landfill prompted intervention by National Green Tribunal and the launch of biomining operations in 2020.Even after Phase II targets are achieved, 69.5 lakh MT of legacy waste will remain, in addition to an estimated 39.3 lakh MT of fresh waste expected until the sites are flattened. To address this, MCD floated a Phase III tender on Sept 10 for complete liquidation of the dumpsites, though financial bids are yet to be opened, said officials.To prevent future dumping at Bhalswa, MCD proposed two new waste-processing facilities — one on the reclaimed landfill and another at Singhola’s silt dumping ground.
