Waste from landfill to be used for laying roads

The huge mounds of waste in Ghazipur near the capital's borders with Ghaziabad may soon disappear, if the government's plan to use treated waste for laying roads becomes a reality.

TNN | Dec 29, 2015, 12.13 AM IST
New Delhi: The huge mounds of waste in Ghazipur near the capital's borders with Ghaziabad may soon disappear, if the government's plan to use treated waste for laying roads becomes a reality.


Sources said after the Delhi municipal authorities submitted the test reports of the treated solid waste to the road transport ministry showing how it is fit for building embankment and base of roads, the Centre is exploring whether this can be used in Meerut Expressway and future road projects in and around Delhi.

"The test reports are encouraging. Two municipal commissioners recently submitted the reports to my ministry. We are going through the details and are keen that the waste is utilized efficiently. Delhi will get rid of these mounds and we will get the material for laying base with little expense. We have to take steps to ensure nothing goes waste," road transport minister Nitin Gadkari told TOI.

Sources said the National Highways Authority of India would soon hold consultations with Central Roads Research Institute (CRRI) experts to explore all possibilities. A highway authority official said the material can prove more beneficial for projects that will come up in the NCR as the transportation cost would be less.

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Roads, particularly green-field expressways, are built on embankments and these require huge quantity of soil or base materials. NHAI will soon undertake the development of Meerut expressway from Dasna in Ghaziabad on a new alignment. Most of the Eastern peripheral Expressway (EPE) is being built on embankment, which needs high volume of base material.

According to rough estimates, about 50 lakh tonnes of treated waste is lying in Ghazipur and there is increasing pressure on this landfill site. Delhi generates about 9,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day and all these land in Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur landfill sites. Ghazipur gets about 2,000 tonnes daily.

Meanwhile, Gadkari's ministry is also pushing for dredging of Yamuna between Delhi and Agra to improve water flow. "We propose to use dredged sand for building roads in and around Delhi. NHAI will bear the expense of dredging. This will help cut construction cost," the minister said.

Officials said Gadkari would soon hold meeting with representatives from Delhi and UP to prepare the roadmap.