EDMC fined Rs 40 lakh over Ghazipur landfill fire

Friday, 02 April 2021 | Staff Reporter | NEW DELHI

EDMC fined Rs 40 lakh over Ghazipur landfill fire

Friday, 02 April 2021 | Staff Reporter | NEW DELHI

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has issued a penalty of Rs 40 lakh to the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) following the orders of Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai.

The Environment Minister said that the Ghazipur landfill fire incident has extensively contributed to the pollution in the area. “I directed the DPCC clearly to show that the EDMC was extremely careless. Based on the probe, the DPCC has issued a penalty of Rs.40 lakh. The enquiry of DPCC revealed that it was carelessness that directly contributed to this fire.

“The DPCC report also shows that the MCD had no proper arrangements to douse the fire. It is very unfortunate that such carelessness has been noted in the functioning of MCD,” he said.

“The EDMC’s carelessness was the major cause behind the incident and has been a major contributor to the area’s air pollution. The DPCC noted that there have been fires at Ghazipur landfill in the past too which indicates the lack of measures taken and vigilance observed by the EDMC to prevent such fire incidents,” he said.

In the notice issued by the DPCC, it was noted that there have been fires at Ghazipur landfill in the past, indicating a lack of vigilance by authorities and measures taken by the EDMC to prevent such fire incidents. It was also noted that the fire at the Ghazipur land site took place at around 4:30 PM on 22nd March at the far end of the landfill, the statement issued by the minister office said.

As per the DPCC the civic body has not only ignored the Environment Protection Act of 1986 but also violated the directions of the National Green Tribunal on the matters of solid waste management or garbage management. The Commissioner of EDMC was directed to take immediate and necessary action for the prevention of fire at the Ghazipur plant site.

The DPCC has also asked EDMC to ensure that such fire incidents do not occur in the future. In DPCC’s notice, EDMC has been asked to submit a detailed report to the department regarding all steps they have taken after getting this notice.