The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has instructed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to provide a time-bound action plan for addressing legacy waste and handling daily waste at the Ghazipur landfill site. The directive, issued by a Bench comprising Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr. Afroz Ahmad, grants the MCD four weeks to review the submissions made by the Court Commissioner in response to its status report. This action follows a suo motu case initiated based on a media report highlighting fire incidents and environmental issues at the landfill site.
The NGT has also directed the MCD to submit a plan for clearing the waste accumulated at the Ghazipur landfill site and for managing the daily waste reaching the site. The tribunal has scheduled the next hearing on July 6 to further address this matter. Since April 2024, the NGT has been overseeing the mismanagement of solid waste at the Ghazipur landfill site, prompted by a major fire incident that occurred at that time.
In March 2025, the NGT appointed an advocate commissioner to assess the situation on the ground due to discrepancies between reports from the MCD and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The Court Commissioner’s inspection revealed various issues such as the landfill exceeding permissible height limits, lack of boundary walls causing waste spillage, and inadequate leachate management leading to water contamination. Consequently, the NGT had earlier instructed the MCD to devise a practical plan for waste processing, biomining, and fire prevention.
In October 2025, the NGT sought information on waste-to-energy plant utilization and electricity generation details, while monitoring the authorities’ compliance with the directives issued.
