Managing Delhi's Municipal Waste

A study on management of municipal solid waste in Delhi
JEWM
A study on management of municipal solid waste in
Delhi
Bhavik Gupta1*
and Shakti Kumar Arora2
1*
Student of Masters in Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, PEC University of
Technology, Chandigarh, India. Email: bhavikguptaindya@gmail.com
2
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, PEC University of Technology, Chandigarh, India.
Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) is one of the most problematic and neglected
aspect of Indian Cities. Improper management of municipal solid waste (MSW) causes
hazards to inhabitants. Also, high population growth and industrialization put strain on the
basic infrastructural and municipal services. Delhi being a commercial hub, provides
employment opportunities, thus leading to accelerated pace of urbanization, which in turn
results in a corresponding increase in MSW. In the present study, an attempt has been made
to provide a comprehensive review of the characteristics, generation, collection and
transportation, disposal and treatment technologies of MSW practiced in Delhi. The study
pertaining to MSWM for Delhi has been carried out to evaluate the current status and
identify the major problems. The study is concluded with a few fruitful suggestions, which
may be beneficial to encourage the competent authorities/ researchers to work towards
further improvement of the present system.
Keywords: Environmental conservation, municipal solid waste management, Delhi, India.
INTRODUCTION
India is the second fastest growing economy and the
second most populated country in the world. The
population of India is expected to increase from 1029
million to 1400 million during the period 2001–2026, an
increase of 36% in 26 years, at the rate of 3.35%
annually (Census of India, 2011). The level of
urbanization of the country has increased from 17.35%
to 31.2% in the last 60 years and is expected that as
much as 50% of Indian population will live in cities in
next 10 years (Khurshid and Sethuraman, 2011). Rapid
industrialization and population explosion in India has
led to the migration of people from villages to cities,
which generate thousands of tons of municipal solid
waste (MSW) daily (Gupta and Arora, 2016). The MSW
amount is expected to increase significantly in the near
future as the country strives to attain an industrialized
nation status by the year 2020 (CPCB, 2004). An
important feature of India’s urbanization is the
phenomenal concentration of the population in Class I
cities (metropolitan cities), urban agglomerations/cities
having a population of more than 1 million, as depicted
by the increase in the number of metropolitans from 35
to 46 in the last decade (Census of India, 2011).
Among these metropolitans, Greater Mumbai is India’s
largest city with a population of 18.4 million, followed by
Delhi and Kolkata.
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of
Delhi, is the capital of India. It has a population of about
16.3 million, making it the second most populous
city and second most populous urban agglomeration in
India and 3
rd
largest urban area in the world (Census of
India, 2011; UNSD, 2015). Such is the nature of urban
expansion in Delhi that its growth has expanded
beyond the NCT to incorporate towns in neighbouring
states and at its largest extent can count a population
of about 25 million residents as of 2014 (UNDESA,
2015). The NCT and its urban region have been given
the special status of National Capital Region (NCR)
under the Constitution of India's 69th Amendment Act
of 1991. The NCR includes the neighbouring cities
of Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida, Faridabad,
Neharpar (Greater Faridabad), Ghaziabad,
Bahadurgarh, Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Rohtak, Alwar,
Journal of Environment and Waste Management
Vol. 3(1), pp. 131-138, June, 2016. © www.premierpublishers.org, ISSN: 1936-8798x
Research Article

Gupta and Arora 131
Table 1. Civic bodies and their areas of work.
CIVIC BODY AREAS
North Delhi Municipal
Corporation
City, Karol Bagh, Sadar Paharganj, Civil Lines, Narela and Rohini
South Delhi Municipal
Corporation
Central Delhi, South Delhi, West Delhi and Najafgarh
East Delhi Municipal
Corporation
Shahdara South and Shahdara North
New Delhi Municipal
Council
Babar Road, Bengalimarket, Barakhamba Road, Connaught Place,
Feroz Shah Road, Tilak Marg, Shershah Road, Kaka Nagar,
Punchkuan Road, Minto Road, North Avenue, Talkatora
Lane/Road, South Avenue, President Estate, Central Secretariat,
Ashoka Road, Parliament Street, Janpath, Rafi Marg, Jantar
Mantar Road, Pandara Road, Shahjahan Road, Rabinder Nagar,
Golf Link, Sujan Singh Park, Bharti Nagar, Akbar Road, Aurangzeb
Road, Tughlak Road, Man Singh Road, Maulana Azad Road, Teen
Murti Marg, Lodhi Colony, Jor Bagh, Ali Ganj, Laxmibai Nagar,
Kidwainagar, Sarojininagar, Naurojininagar, Safdarjung Enclave,
Brig Hoshiyar Singh Road, Race Course Road, Willingdon
Crescent, Kautilya Marg, Panchsheel Marg, Shantipath, Chanakya
Puri, Netaji Nagar, Moti Bagh.
Delhi Cantonment
Board
Delhi Cantt.
Table 2. Current sanitary landfill sites in Delhi
Name Area (Acres) Civic Body
Bhalswa 40 North Delhi Municipal
Corporation
Narela-Bawana 60 North Delhi Municipal
Corporation
Okhla 32 South Delhi Municipal
Corporation
Gazipur 70 East Delhi Municipal
Corporation
Bharatpur, Bhiwani, Rewari, Baghpat, Meerut, and
other nearby towns. A union territory, the political
administration of the NCT of Delhi today more closely
resembles that of a state in India, with its own
legislature, high court and an executive council of
ministers headed by the Chief Minister. New Delhi is
jointly administered by the federal government of
India and the local government of Delhi, and is the
capital of the NCT of Delhi.
The NCT of Delhi comprises of 11 districts, 27 tehsils,
59 census towns, 300 villages, and 3 statutory towns,
the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) –
1,397.3 sq.km., the New Delhi Municipal
Council (NDMC) – 42.7 sq.km. and the Delhi
Cantonment Board (DCB) – 43 sq.km.
The civic bodies in Delhi have been making all the
efforts to devise foolproof methods to organise the
management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in an
efficient manner. The whole area has been divided
between five agencies, details of which have been
provided in Table 1, and the supervisors have been
made the incharge of the areas for the purpose of
sanitation and refuse removal services.
At present, there are four sanitary landfill sites in Delhi
(Table 2). The Honourable High Court of Delhi in the
matter of W.P.C No. 5236 of 2010 constituted a
committee under the chairmanship of Secretary (UD)
GNCTD comprising of a senior officer each from Delhi
Development Authority (DDA), Municipal Corporation of
Delhi (MCD), Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD),
Land and Building Department (LBD), Ministry of
Environment GNCTD of Delhi. (UNSD, 2015) The
committee had recommended 31 sites for solid waste
management facilities, out of which 18 sites fall in
South DMC, 8 sites fall in North DMC and 5 sites fall in
East DMC (In the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi,
2011).
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the current research study is to review

J. Environ. Waste Manag. 132
Table 3. Physical Components (as wt %) of MSW in Delhi. (IHPH,
1982; NEERI, 1995; TERI, 2002)
Parameters 2002 1995 1982
Biodegradables 38.6 38 57.7
Paper 5.6 5.6 5.9
Plastic 6 6 1.5
Metal 0.2 0.3 0.6
Glass and Crockery 1 1 0.3
Non-Biodegradable
(leather, rubber, bones
and synthetic material)
13.9 14 5.1
Inert (stones, bricks,
ashes, etc.)
34.7 34.7 28.9
and analyze the current status of municipal solid waste
management in Delhi.
The current paper has the following objectives:
 To appraise the qualitative and quantitative
characteristics of the MSW of Delhi.
 To understand the spatial pattern of MSW
management.
 To trace the problem related to MSW
management in Delhi and give some suggestions for
better waste management.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The research objectives were met through the
collection of secondary data through open-ended
interviews and discussions with different stakeholders,
which allowed the study to incorporate a variety of
views on the waste problem. In addition, the review of
published materials, reports, key informant interviews,
applicable policies, laws (if any) pertaining to the
research purpose was also undertaken, to further
enhance the understanding and to verify the quality of
information gathered. Current management practice
was assessed in consultation with the local people,
civic bodies, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC)
and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). By doing
so, this study has been able to find out the nature and
characteristics of the waste management system; along
with other strengths/constraints of the current waste
management system.
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
WASTE
Several studies have been conducted in Delhi by
different organizations and institutions to determine the
physical and chemical composition of MSW (IHPH,
1982; NEERI, 1995; TERI, 2002). Table 3 reflects that
biodegradable waste is generated maximum in all the
three years (1982, 1995, and 2002) but in 1995 and
2002 the composition was almost unchanged. The inert
matter is produced in huge quantity (i.e. 34.7 per cent
in 2002 and 1995) which is because of high pace of
construction and demolition activities in Delhi. The
other major components of the MSW like paper, plastic
metal, glass and crockery and non biodegradable
waste (leather, rubber, bones and synthetic material)
has increased. In Delhi, the recyclable material, like
paper, plastic and metal, are available in high
quantities, but it is not properly processed, because of
lack of knowledge, man power, machinery and financial
support from the Government.
Table 4 discusses the chemical composition of
municipal solid waste in Delhi. It has been observed
that the waste is characterized by high moisture content
i.e. 43.8 per cent, which pave the way for the process
of composting rather than incineration. If comparing the
two studies which were conducted by TERI 2002 and
NEERI 1995, it is worth noticing that the situation is
almost unchanged.
With urbanization, the substantial increase in use of
paper is quiet obvious. However, in Delhi, it has been
observed that the rapid growth of rag pickers has given
rise to change in composition of waste collected, as the
percentage of paper in MSW has remained unchanged.
United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
had contracted COWI of Denmark with Kadam
Environmental consultants, India as local partner for
implementing a project study and master plan for waste
treatment and disposal for Delhi state under Public
Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The objective of the
study was to converge on an optimal, economical and
environmentally sustainable waste treatment and
disposal plan for state of Delhi. Volume 6 (MCD, 2004)
of the report pertains to MSW characterization and the
report gives the composition of the waste at the landfill
site as briefed in Table 5.

Gupta and Arora 133
Table 4. Chemical composition (as wt %) of MSW in Delhi. (IHPH,
1982; NEERI, 1995; TERI, 2002)
Parameters 2002 1995 1982
Moisture 43.8 43.7 15.4
Organic Carbon 20.5 20.5 22.8
Nitrogen as N 0.9 0.9 0.86
Phosphorus as P2O5 0.3 0.3 0.74
Potassium as K2O 0.7 0.7 0.52
C/N ratio 24.1 24 28
Calorific Value (Kcal/Kg) 713 712.5 661-1200
Table 5. Composition of waste reaching the landfill site.
(MCD, 2004)
Parameters Average % Range
Biodegradables 73.7 20.9-94.6
Recyclables 9.2 2.8-16.3
Inerts 10.8 0.0-72.2
Others 6.3 0.3-61.9
Ash 15.3 3.4-61.9
Moisture 47 8-82
LCV (Kcal/Kg) 1777 191-4495
HHV (Kcal/Kg) 3927 2042-5315
WASTE HANDLING, COLLECTION AND STORAGE
Waste collection and storage are interrelated functional
elements of solid waste management system. Several
types of waste receptacles are used in the area of
Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) – (i) large
masonry bins, locally called "Dhalao" (50 – 72 m
3
),
used to serve about 10,000 – 15,000 residents with a
capacity of 12 – 16 tonnes. (ii) Metal containers and
dumper bins (1 m
3
and 4 m
3
respectively), are emptied
by modern hydraulic refuse collection trucks (iii) 4 -
wheeled plastic and FRP bins with large covers, which
have been introduced in some areas recently and (iv)
open unspecified space with no structure are also used
for primary storage. Usually open dumpsites storage
occurs in JJ clusters and other unorganised
settlements, existing within the MCD periphery (Talyan,
et al; 2008). The estimated number of dhalaos, metallic
bins and open sites is about 3000 (Table 6).
The collected waste is stored in dhalaos (usually RCC
structures) varying in size from 4.5 x 3 meters to 13.5 x
9 meters and can store 4 to 16 tonnes of garbage. The
requirement of dhalaos and dustbins is basically
dependent upon the solid waste generation per capita
per day.
The existing dhalaos and dustbins are depots that act
as transfer stations rather than serving the people
directly due to their locations. Residents do not deposit
the waste directly into dhalaos, due to far distances.
The placement of MSW receptacles does not follow any
standards, as on an average about 2–3 collection
points are placed per km
2
whereas 16 collection points
(Dhalaos, containers or open dumpsites) should be
provided per 100,000 residents (TERI, 2002). In many
areas of Delhi, the system of dhalaos as collection
centres of garbage is not being fully accepted by the
people.
Now, MCD plans to replace the old system of dhalaos
by putting trolleys and smaller bins in the vicinity of
people as there are a lot of complaints regarding
animals seen roaming around the dhalaos, leading to
in-aesthetical view and problems of odour.
MCD, NDMC and DCB have employed about 50,000,
2600 and 370 sweepers or Safai Karamacharis (SKs),
in their respective jurisdictions for primary and
secondary MSW collection from waste receptacles and
for street sweeping. In this context, lowest number of
safai karamcharies serving per 10 sq. km. of area can
be found in areas of outer Delhi, like Najafgarh and
Narela. In the entire area under MCD, an average of
281 SKs are serving per 10 sq. km. of area. Only three
zones namely Najafgarh, Narela and Central fall below
the figure of 281, and the remaining zones indicate
more than average SKs. The core areas of Delhi viz.
Sadar Paharganj, Karol Bagh, and City have the
highest number of SKs, serving on per 10 sq. km. of

Table 6. Waste receptacles in Delhi. (North Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2015; South Delhi Municipal
Corporation, 2015; East Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2015; New Delhi Municipal Council, 2015; Delhi
Cantonment Board, 2015; Delhi Pollution Control Committee, 2015)
Name of Zone Dhalaos + Dustbins Open Sites
Zones under MCD
NDMC 691+10579+292
(dustbins/dhalaos+trolleys+containers(3-5
m
3
))
City 78 13
Sadar Paharganj 49 0
Karol Bagh 78 6
Civil Lines 148 21
Narela 41 62
Rohini 297 6
SDMC 899+4238 (dustbin/dhalaos+trolleys)
Central Delhi 244 75
South Delhi 374 72
West Delhi 213 14
Najafgarh 68 135
EDMC 300+1500 (dustbins/dhalaos+trolleys)
Shahdara South 180 18
Shahdara North 120 11
Delhi Cantonment Board 161 NA
New Delhi Municipal
Council
116+1511+1275
(dustbins/dhalaos+iron trolleys+twin litter
bins)
18
area. These three zones have only 3.21% of the total
geographical area under MCD and 17.93% population
of the total population under MCD, and generate 47.98,
33.46 and 33.01 metric tonnes waste on a per lakh
population basis. As we move from core area to outer
area, the number of safai karamcharies serving per 10
sq. km. of area decreases.
Also, due to the significant increase in vehicular traffic
on the main roads, commercial areas and other
crowded areas, it has become impossible to carry out
street sweeping manually during the morning hours.
Therefore, the State Government of Delhi has adopted
street sweeping at night in 30% of the municipal areas,
and induction of around 30 mechanical sweepers in the
city, which is a step in increasing the efficiency of the
system and lowering of the cost per capita incurred.
TRANSPORTATION OF MSW
Transport of waste from collection centres to
processing or final disposal site is very important step
for solid waste management system and for this
purpose, suitable vehicles and equipments is required.
In eight zones, the secondary collection and
transportation of MSW from the receptacles (dhalaos)
is done through private concessionaires and in other
four zones, the same is done by the Corporation
involving a large number of staff; mobile equipment and
plant, whereas, the primary collection of the garbage is
done by the residents themselves. A new initiative of
the Corporation in two zones (Rohini and Civil Lines),
from July 2009, takes care of the primary and
secondary collection and transportation of waste to
processing facility and sanitary landfill sites for
processing i.e. door-to-door collection of garbage.
MCD maintains a large fleet of vehicles for
transportation and secondary collection of MSW from
various waste receptacles to the disposal sites. In this
process, MCD is using various types of vehicles i.e.,
mini-trucks and mechanical trucks of different makes
(Tata Tipper trucks, Leyland and Shaktiman trucks)
having 8.6m
3
capacity and they transport the waste
directly to the nearest disposal/landfill site. Front-End
loaders are also used for loading the vehicles from the
dhalaos/dustbins.
It has been estimated that approximately 60-75 percent
waste is collected for the transportation to the disposal
sites and the main constraints are non-availability of
sufficient vehicles and their frequent breakdown.
Currently, MCD uses around 6500 vehicles: 585 RRTs,
and 137 loaders. In MCD area about 1000 auto tippers

Gupta and Arora 135
Table 7. Vehicles for Solid Waste Management. (North Delhi Municipal Corporation,
2015; South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2015; East Delhi Municipal Corporation,
2015; New Delhi Municipal Council, 2015; Delhi Cantonment Board, 2015; Delhi
Pollution Control Committee, 2015)
Name of the Vehicle No. Of Vehicles
MCD DCB NDMC
NDMC SDMC EDMC
Truck - Tipper having
capacity 8 m
3
101 138 140 15 14
Tractor - Trailer Nil 40 Nil Nil Nil
Refuse collector/
compactor having
capacity 14 m
3
58 26 Nil 11 15
Dumper - placers/Bins
having capacity
1100ltrs.
222 1151 Nil Nil Nil
Front end loaders 22 30 26 Nil Nil
Auto Tipper 398 256 302 Nil 26
PVC Bins having
capacity 200ltrs.
Nil 800 Nil Nil Nil
Tricycle Nil Nil 1000 Nil 144
are also used for primary collection of waste from
houses. Besides, MCD has privatised 8 zone namely
South, Central, City, Sadar, Paharganj, Karol Bagh,
West, Rohini and Civil Lines zones under the Public
Private Partnership (PPP) scheme. There, 305 Big
Hydraulic Vehicles, Short Range Tippers/Dumpers are
used for transportation of waste. The NDMC and DCB
operate 55 and 26 trucks, respectively.
There is unequal distribution of waste transportation in
all the zones of MCD. Although the available transport
volume is inadequate for the MCD areas, the vehicles
operate in two shifts and usually make one trip per shift
depending upon the distance of the disposal site.
Under-utilization of the fleet of vehicles is a problem
that results in delay in transporting the waste from the
collection points to the disposal site. The major reasons
for this include, improper maintenance, haphazard
parking of vehicles, time lost waiting in the queue for
fuelling and travelling from one workshop to another for
refuelling. As a result, the vehicles are found to operate
only few hours in a day. The situation is further
worsened by poor maintenance, improper route
planning and shortage of staff. The situation is better in
NDMC where operational efficiency is 75 percent as
compared to 60 percent in MCD (Talyan, et al; 2008).
TREATMENT OF MSW
Composting
In Delhi, a huge amount of biodegradable waste is
generated, and so there exists a good potential
available for composting. Therefore, Delhi Government
had initiated various composting plants (Table 8). The
first composting plant was set up at Okhla in 1980. It
was semi–mechanized plant with a capacity of 150
tonnes per day for composting the waste. Later this
plant was expanded increasing its capacity in 1985.
However, this plant was in-operational during 1991-
1995 due to low quantity of waste material and higher
operational cost. In May 2007 ILandFS Company
signed a concession agreement with the MCD to
rehabilitate the Okhla compost plant with carbon
support. The project uses the technique of multi-
treatment of municipal waste to avoid possible
pollution. It involves mechanical sorting and composting
of organic waste, recycling of materials like metals,
plastics and paper and treating the residual organic
waste using composting process. This plant converts
approximately 73,000 tonnes of MSW into compost
every year which is equivalent to 200 tonnes per day.
Likewise, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) had
also set up a compost plant in Okhla. Then came two
other compost plants in Bhalswa and Tikri Khurd. The
plant in Bhalswa has been shut down by Delhi Pollution
Control Committee (DPCC) since 28.03.2014, due to
non compliance of rules.
Recently MCD has installed a compost plant at Narela-
Bawana with a capacity of 400 TPD and it is working
since January 2012 (Table 8). The Compost facility
processes approximately 400 TPD MSW (150 TPD
from incoming solid waste, 150 TPD from MRF, and
100 TPD from screening section).

Table 8. Existing compost plants in Delhi. (North Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2015; South Delhi Municipal
Corporation, 2015; East Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2015; New Delhi Municipal Council, 2015; Delhi Cantonment
Board, 2015; Delhi Pollution Control Committee, 2015)
S.
No.
Facility Capacity
(TPD)
Area (Ha.) Year of
Installation
Remarks
1 Okhla (MCD) 150 8 1981, 2007 -
2 Okhla (NDMC) 200 3.4 1985 -
3 Bhalswa
(Private
Sector)
500 12 1999 This plant has been
closed by DPCC
since 28.03.2014
due to non
compliance of rules.
4 Tikri Khurd
(APMC)
125 2.6 2001 -
5 Narela-
Bawana
500 2.7 2012 -
Incineration (Waste to Energy)
Waste to energy facilities may generate steam,
electricity, super-heated water or a combination of
these. Incineration is a good alternative for waste
processing, being used in India. The Government of
Delhi also gave permission for 3 plants for conversion
of solid waste into power:
Timarpur-Okhla Waste to Energy Plant: The
Timarpur Refuse Incineration-cum-Power Generation
station was commissioned by the Ministry of Non-
Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) in 1987 at a
capital cost of Rs. 20 crores (US$ 4.4 million). Built by
Volund Miljotecknik Ltd. of Denmark, the plant was
designed to incinerate 300 tonnes of municipal solid
waste per day to generate 3.75 MW of electricity. The
plant ran for 21 days of trial operations, then was shut
down due to the poor quality of incoming waste. In
November 2007, the CDM Executive Board registered
a project by the name Timarpur-Okhla Waste
Management Company to build two facilities to handle
2050 tonnes per day of municipal waste.
Gazipur WTE Plant: The Gazipur project process
1,300 tonnes per day of municipal waste generated in
the Trans-Yamuna area. The waste is collected to
produce green electricity.
The Narela-Bawana waste to energy plant: 4000
TPD of municipal solid waste will be treated in two
phases; Phase-I will process 1000 TPD of waste
comprising of a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to
reclaim metals and recyclables, and sorting out organic
and combustible material for composting and RDF
facilities.
Phase-II comprising of a power plant based on Mass-
burn technology, will process 3000 TPD of waste.
These three wastes to energy plants have been
established for the better management of municipal
solid waste. These three plants incinerate some 8,000
tonnes of MSW generated by the city daily and produce
about 62.2 MW of electricity, 1.3% of the city’s total
consumption of 4800MW.
DISPOSAL OF MSW
Presently in Delhi, there are four active sanitary landfill
sites (Bhalswa, Gazipur Okhla and Narela-Bawana)
which cover more than 200 acres of land, in different
zones of the city, in different directions. The Municipal
Corporations of Delhi (NDMC, SDMC and EDMC) is
responsible for the management of all four existing
landfill sites. Other agencies like Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation (DMRC) and Agricultural Produce Market
Committee (APMC) etc. dispose off their waste on the
MCD controlled landfill sites. The civic bodies in the city
other than MCDs (New Delhi Municipal Council and
Delhi Cantonment Board) have no provision for
disposal of their own waste produced. Hence, MCD
permits these agencies to use its dumping sites by
charging them and the tipping fee/charges may vary
from ₹ 205 (US $3) to ₹ 235 (US $4) per refuse
collector truck (4 Metric Tonnes). The three active
landfill sites namely Bhalswa, Gazipur and Okhla have
exhausted but illegal waste dumping by all the civic
bodies continues, which has lead to overflowing and
poses negative impacts on human’s health and
environment. Table 6 shows the status of the active
landfill sites in Delhi.
DISCUSSION
With an ever increasing population and a rapid pace of
urbanization, the effects of poor waste management
practices on human health and environment have never
been more pronounced. The study concludes that the
management of municipal solid waste in the city is far
from being satisfactory. The present policies and
infrastructure are inadequate in dealing with the
enormous quantity of MSW generated in the city of
Delhi. There are problems in the solid waste

Gupta and Arora 137
Table 9. Status of landfill sites in Delhi. (North Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2015; South Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2015;
East Delhi Municipal Corporation, 2015; New Delhi Municipal Council, 2015; Delhi Cantonment Board, 2015; Delhi Pollution
Control Committee, 2015)
management practices prevailing in the city at every
level, i.e., collection, transportation, processing and
disposal. Major weaknesses associated with MSWM
system in Delhi are:
 Mixed Waste: Earlier in rural areas, kitchen
waste was usually fed to the animals, but with
urbanization and changing lifestyles, use of more
plastic materials and packaging all waste are mixed
now and put into one dustbin leading to no segregation
of waste at source.
 Rapid increase in population and thus waste:
Delhi is already feeling the burden of population and
accordingly civic services and waste management is
coming as a challenge in the area. Waste is increasing
day by day with increase in population and per capita
waste generation rate due to changing lifestyles and
increasing income and there is acute need of a system
of Integrated Solid Waste management (ISWM).
 Lack of planning: In the absence of law
regarding waste disposal and treatment of residential
areas/flats/apartments at the time of passing plan of
these projects, private developers are taking advantage
of this and no place in residential areas is left for waste
disposal and treatment. As a result, their waste scatters
at any vacant place or plots or alongside roads.
 Lack of resources: As civic bodies give very low
priority to solid waste management, accordingly very
low budget is allocated for it and also whatever funds
are assigned, a major portion of them is used for waste
collection and transportation, leaving very less for its
processing. According to one estimate, 90% of total
funds is assigned for collection and transportation and
rest for treatment of waste.
 Old equipment and Technology: Equipment
used for collection, transportation of waste is very old
and incineration and dumping are the treatments given
to the waste which create serious health and
environmental hazards when all mix waste is burned /
dumped.
 Societal Apathy: The social status assigned to
SMW is very low and people think of it as a degraded
task, thus they tend to throw their waste wherever they
find a vacant and lonely place, outside bins, or
alongside roads. In turn, the work of the collection staff
increases manifold and thus the cost.
Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Government of
Delhi have realized the seriousness of the situation and
framed guidelines in the form of the Master Plan (2005–
2021) for disposal and treatment of MSW for the entire
state of Delhi. MCD took a big step towards improving
municipal solid waste management practices, by
privatizing the collection, segregation, transportation
and disposal of waste. Non-government organisations,
with the assistance from resident welfare associations
(RWAs), have played an important role in establishing
an infrastructure for Door To Door Collection (DTDC)
services and segregation of waste at the source in
certain areas of Delhi; this kind of cooperation needs to
be replicated at a larger scale. Public co-operation is
essential for successful operation of an effective and
well-founded system. The Bhagidari scheme initiated
by the Government of Delhi has been instrumental in
promoting civil partnership in local governance, in the
field of MSWM. More such initiatives need to be taken
towards educating people about correct practices of
solid waste disposal. Initiatives taken by policy makers
never yield results unless matched by proper
implementation at every level. It is clear that any
substantial change in the present scenario is not
possible without a three-way partnership of the
government, the private sector and the citizens.
Government must promote composting, vermin-
composting, incineration, refused derived fuel etc.
processing and treatment methods for reducing the
solid waste disposal problems because the processing
of the waste is the only answer to the current scenario
of municipal solid waste. Finally, there is also a need to
develop a methodology of research for developing
interactive techniques for system’s design and
operational control.
Some suggestions that would be helpful in improving
SWM system in Delhi are as follow:
Landfill Site Area D.O.C Zones Supplying Waste Fencing Manpower Equipments Available Gas Venting Leachate Collection System
Bhalswa 40 Exhausted Civil Lines, Karol Bagh,
Rohini, Narela, Najafgarh
and West
Partly 130 6+2+1
(Bulldozers+Hydraulic
Excavators+Backhoe
Loader)
No No
Narela-Bawana 60
-
Rohini, Civil Line and
Najafgarh
Yes NA NA Yes Yes
Okhla 32 Exhausted Central, Najafgarh, South
and DCB
Partly 80 2+2+1
Excavators+Backhoe
Loader)
No No
Ghazipur 70 Exhausted Shahdara (S), Shahdara
(N), City, Sadar Paharganj,
and NDMC
Partly 80 5+2+1
Excavators+Backhoe
Loader)
Yes(in a part
of land
around 10
acres)
No(will be made till end of
2015)

 The involvement of people and private sector
through NGOs could improve the efficiency of MSWM.
Public awareness programmes should be arranged by
the government regularly. The informal policy of
encouraging the public to separate MSW and market it
directly to the informal network appears to be a better
option.
 Segregation of household waste at the source
would reduce the burden on solid waste management
agencies significantly while at the same time, it will
ensure that the poor farmers near Delhi will get the
benefit of quality supply of compost.
 Door-to-door collection of MSW should be
organized through methods like collection on regular
pre-informed timing and scheduling.
 Open waste storage sites and other unhygienic
street bins should not be allowed to create unsanitary
conditions. The collection bins should be appropriately
designed with features like metallic containers with lids,
and to have a large enough capacity to accommodate
at least 20% more than the expected waste generation
in area, placement at appropriate locations, etc.
 Proper maintenance of MSW transportation
vehicles and other equipments must be conducted and
old vehicles must be replaced by new Dumper Placers
in a phased manner.
 If source segregation is carried out effectively, it
would lead to better options and opportunities for
scientific disposal of waste. Recyclables could be
straightway transported to recycling units which could
help in formalizing the existing informal set up of
recycling units. Organizing the informal sector and
promoting micro-enterprises are an effective way of
extending affordable services.
 Government should adopt 4R’s (Reduce,
Reuse, Recycle and Resource Recovery) principle.
 An open dump or an uncontrolled waste
disposal area should be rehabilitated. It is advisable to
move from open dumping to sanitary landfilling in a
phased manner. Government should increase the
number of composting and Waste-to-Energy plants.
 Landfilling should be restricted to non-
biodegradable, inert waste and other waste that are not
suitable either for recycling or for biological processing.
REFERENCES
Census of India (2011). Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India (GoI). Retrieved 16 November
2015, from http://www.censusinindia.net
Central Pollution Control Board (2004). Management of
Municipal Solid Wastes, New Delhi, India.
Delhi Cantonment Board (2015). Annual Report for the
year 2014-15. Delhi.
Delhi Pollution Control Committee. (2015). Annual
Review Report for the year 2014-15. Delhi.
East Delhi Municipal Corporation. (2015). Annual
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Gupta B and Arora SK. (2016). Municipal Solid Waste
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Tata Energy Research Institute (2002). Performance
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United Nations Department of Economics and Social
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United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and
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dyb2.htm
Accepted 15 May, 2016.
Citation: Gupta B, Arora SK (2016). A study on
management of municipal solid waste in Delhi. Journal
of Environment and Waste Management, 3(1): 130-
138.
Copyright: © 2016 Gupta and Arora. This is an open-
access article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any
medium, provided the original author and source are
cited.

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