Exclusive: Despite NGT Orders Over Ghazipur Landfill, No Change on Ground, As Thousands Suffer

New Delhi: The ongoing Ghazipur landfill fire is a cause of concern for the residents of the area, who have been complaining of the fires for years. “On the one hand, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is suffering to get insulin for himself inside Tihar Jail, and we are being tortured here by the poisonous air,” said 61-year-old Ashish in conversation with Republic. He is a resident of Udaigiri Tower in the Kaushambi region, which is a kilometre away from the Ghazipur landfill site, where efforts are on to douse the fire at the dumping site. The statements of most of the residents in the area resonate with his sentiments, who have bought their homes around the landfill site several years back and continue to suffer. 

A few expected that the landfill would eventually be removed. But year after year, it’s the same story for the families who are even worried to send their children to schools after incidents of fire at the dumping site. “Every year, we get media coverage. But so far, nothing has happened, and it feels like we are being pushed to a slow death every day,” said Ashish.

Breathing issues for residents of Ghazipur

It was hours after the fire broke out in the Ghazipur landfill area on Sunday evening that the thick plumes of smoke continued to rise, resulting in issues in breathing for several residents living nearby. Rahul, 28, who works in a private company complained of inhaling the toxic smoke from the waste dump fire. He also said that such incidents would worsen as the temperature soars.

"Since the past 10 years that I have been living here, I have only seen the mountains of dump increasing, which also creates a lot of physical problems for children and the elderly. It was Sunday and suddenly as the wind blew, we saw a huge plume of smoke from our balcony. We have invested so much money in buying this premium flat just to inhale poison," said 65-year-old Reema, a homemaker.

Another resident of Kaushambi, who lives on the eighth floor, said that he has to turn on all three air purifiers in his house due to suffocation. As the heatwave conditions are likely to continue over Central India along with Uttar Pradesh, residents state a threatening future, as temperatures continue to rise.

Two years later, residents stare at hopeless future

It was in April 2022, when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a fine of Rs 450 crore as environmental compensation for improper management of solid municipal waste at the landfill sites. The Tribunal noted that the sites were leading to groundwater contamination as well as continuous emission of methane and other harmful gases. The bench even slammed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for not lifting the segregated waste lying at the Ghazipur landfill site despite specific directions.

Environmentalist Dr Debajit Palit, in conversation with Republic as to what extent the ramifications of living around the landfill would be for a human body, said, "The recent fire tragedy has released toxic smoke in the air, which is being inhaled by thousands of residents living nearby. Stringent steps should have been taken as a precautionary measure on an initial level. In ways to address the issue or manage the crisis, the body, or the stakeholder responsible for creating this situation should have been held. The management body should have implemented ways to manage this crisis. It shouldn’t have reached this point. Every year, we cannot give new hope and then do nothing about it. The government or the body responsible for it should have been alert."

"The landfill will generate gas. Every landfill generates gas, as any organic waste generates gas. Because of this process, methane gas is generated, which is highly combustible. That’s why this huge dump site becomes home to many incidents of fire. The scientific management of the landfill is the only way to deal with this persistent crisis at this moment," he added.