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

New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) 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.

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.

--IANS

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