Spotlight
oi-Oneindia Staff
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday visited the Okhla landfill site to review the ongoing biomining work, with the government claiming that the removal of the massive garbage mountain has entered its final stage.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta reviewed the Okhla landfill’s final biomining stage, noting 70 lakh metric tonnes removed and aiming for site clearance by December, with plans for green space development and new waste processing facilities.
Delhi Minister Ashish Sood and Mayor Parvesh Wahi were also present during the inspection. Gupta said that as old waste is removed from the landfill, the cleared land is gradually being converted into green spaces.
According to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, around 70 lakh metric tonnes of waste has already been removed from the Okhla landfill. The Delhi government has set a target of completely clearing and levelling the site by December this year.
The cleanup is being carried out through biomining, a process in which old waste is mechanically segregated and processed to recover reusable materials.
Gupta also said that around 100 acres of land have been cleared across Delhi’s three major landfill sites over the past one-and-a-half years. The government plans to turn the cleared areas into green spaces.
During her visit, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta planted bamboo saplings on a section of land cleared after biomining at the Okhla landfill.
आज ओखला लैंडफिल साइट पर पहुंचकर कूड़ा निस्तारण के काम की जमीनी प्रगति देखी और अधिकारियों के साथ आगे की कार्ययोजना की समीक्षा की।
लक्ष्य तय है, समयसीमा तय है और काम जमीन पर तेज गति से चल रहा है। हर दिन हजारों टन कूड़ा प्रोसेस किया जा रहा है।
दिल्ली को कूड़े के पहाड़ों से पूरी… pic.twitter.com/Y3sewF0aqA
— Rekha Gupta (@gupta_rekha) October 3, 2026
The government’s plan is not limited to removing the garbage. It also intends to use the cleared land to develop green areas. Bamboo and other forms of greenery have also been included in targets under Delhi’s Green Action Plan.
The larger objective is to gradually transform parts of the former landfill sites into areas that can support greenery and potentially be developed as parks.
While removing legacy waste remains a major task, the government also faces the challenge of managing the fresh waste generated in Delhi every day.
To address this, work has begun on fresh waste processing plants at Okhla, Ghazipur and Singhola. A biogas plant has also been initiated at Ghazipur.
According to the government, the new facilities are intended to process fresh waste directly instead of allowing it to accumulate again at landfill sites. The combined capacity of the new fresh waste processing plants has been stated as 3,200 tonnes per day.
During her visit to the Okhla landfill, Rekha Gupta took what she described as her “last selfie” with the garbage mountain.
She said, “Today I have taken my last selfie with the garbage mountain. Now this garbage mountain will soon disappear.”
The Chief Minister added that images of Delhi’s garbage mountains had once become a symbol of the city, but claimed that the situation was now changing. She said the government aims to completely eliminate the garbage mountains by the end of 2026.
Minister Ashish Sood also joined Gupta for a selfie near the landfill.
The government’s focus is now on both clearing legacy waste and preventing fresh garbage from creating new landfill mountains. If the Okhla target is achieved, attention will turn to how the cleared land is developed and maintained as green space.
