The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) plans to make it mandatory for builders to produce proof that construction and demolition waste (C&D waste) was disposed of at designated facilities, while applying for building plan approval for new structure.
Leader of the house Inderjeet Sehrawat said the move will help in curbing the illegal dumping of C&D waste, which is a major contributor to the dust pollution in the city. ‘In cases where old structures are being demolished for fresh construction, a deposit slip/receipt for the C&D waste deposited at the designated site will be mandatorily required for processing the new building plan. The approval will not be granted without documentary proof. The works committee has approved the proposal and it will soon be implemented,’ he said.
The four zones falling under the south corporation are estimated to generate more than 925 tonnes of C&D waste every day.
A senior SDMC official explained that 65 designated C&D waste collection sites have been set up where small quantities of waste can be deposited. ‘Bulk generators are expected to dump the debris at C&D waste processing plant or the sanitary landfill site in Okhla,’ the official said, asking not to be named. ‘After dumping the debris at designated site, the builder would get a receipt as proof which will be later collected by the engineering or building department.’
If one takes into the account all five local bodies of the city — the three municipal corporations, the New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board — together they produce more than 3,711 tonnes of construction waste every day and 255 designated sites have been earmarked for depositing such waste. Delhi has four operational C&D waste processing plants while another three are in the pipeline, officials said. The processing plants are located in Jahangirpuri (Burari), Shastri Park, Mundka and Bakkarwala.
‘The total capacity of these plants is 4,150 tonnes per day (TPD),’ the official quoted above said. A 1,000 TPD plant is soon expected to be commissioned in Ranikhera, while another 1,000 TPD plant will be coming up in Tehkhand. The public works department plans to set up a 500 tonne per day plant in Libaspur for which the agency has applied for a change in land-use to the Delhi Development authority.
Last week, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) commissioner also said the civic body may cancel approved building plans if owners/builders fail to safely dispose of C&D waste. In the view deteriorating air quality, the junior engineers JEs (building) have been directed to undertake fortnightly inspections of construction sites in their areas. ‘The owners/ builders will deposit the waste in Shastri Park facility and collect receipts. The JEs will be responsible for collecting the receipts,’ an east corporation official said.
The lack of sufficient takers for recycled products made from C&D waste such as tiles, bricks, kerb stones etc remains a challenge, officials said. The Delhi government has mandated that local bodies will have to use 5% of such construction material in their various projects while 10% of recycled products need to be used for road works.
Highlights and stats:
SDMC to make it mandatory to show proof that demolition waste was deposited at designated sites before sanctioning building plans
SDMC areas generate 925 tonnes of C&D waste every day
65 designated sites for dumping C&D waste
Overall, Delhi generates 3,711.6 tonnes of C&D waste a day, and there 255 dumping sites
Four C&D waste processing plants are operational: Jahangirpuri, Shastri Park, Mundka, Bakkarwala
Total capacity of these plants: 4,150 tonnes per day
Upcoming processing plants: Ranikhera, Tehkhand, Libaspur
City’s handling capacity to increase by 2,500 tonnes per day