Delhi's garbage mountains will disappear like dinosaurs in 5 years: Environment minister Sirsa

New Delhi: Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Thursday said the government was exploring the possibility of hiring an additional agency to expedite the waste processing and asserted the city's garbage mounds would "disappear" in the next five years just like dinosaurs.

Inspecting the Ghazipur landfill site, he said the government was working on a war footing to clear the legacy waste and free the city from its massive piles of garbage that have accumulated, resembling hills.

"I want to offer my commitment that the garbage mountains in Delhi will disappear just like dinosaurs," he said.

The minister said of the 70 lakh metric tonnes of waste accumulated at the site, 14-15 lakh tonnes have already been processed. The pace of biomining work has picked up, around 7,000 to 8,000 metric tonnes of waste would be processed daily in the next six months, he added.

Sirsa said he has directed MCD officials to ensure the new contractor processes at least 8,000 metric tonnes of waste daily in the next four to five months. "If they fail to meet the target, a penalty will be imposed," he warned.

The Delhi government is also exploring the possibility of hiring an additional agency to expedite the waste processing.

"We are monitoring the progress daily through a dashboard at the secretariat. This is a commitment made in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, and we are determined to meet it without fail," he said.

Sirsa also underlined that the work is moving swiftly, and every effort is being made to ensure the complete removal of the garbage in the next five to six years.