Centre pushes deadline to remediate all legacy landfills to December 2027
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has extended the timeline for clearing dumpsites under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.
The central government has extended the deadline to remediate all legacy landfill sites across the country to December 2027, according to The Indian Express.
Under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, which was launched in 2021, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs originally planned to remove all legacy dumpsites by October 1, 2026. While the Mission has been extended to March 2027, officials stated the timeline for clearing all landfills is now December 2027.
Current data from the Swachh Bharat Mission dashboard shows that 1,402 out of 2,607 dumpsites have been completely remediated. Work is ongoing at 1,057 sites, while 148 sites have shown no progress.
Of the total 3,135 lakh tonnes of waste spread over 15,545.05 acres, 64 per cent of the waste quantity has been remediated and 70 per cent of the area reclaimed. This leaves 1,139 lakh tonnes of waste over 4,632 acres yet to be cleared.
Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal said on Wednesday that work on the Bhalswa site in Delhi would be completed by December 31. He noted that the Okhla site is almost clear, but Ghazipur will take one more year.
The Minister added that among big cities, there is difficulty in Chennai and Mumbai. In Mumbai, authorities recently began trials to remove waste from the Deonar dumpsite.