The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has awarded contracts to process nearly 5,900 metric tonnes of fresh municipal waste every day at five locations including the city three major landfill sites at Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur.
According to officials the contracts aim to prevent the accumulation of new garbage while remediation of legacy waste continues at the landfill sites. The selected firms will establish the required infrastructure before beginning waste processing operations.
Under the new arrangement, Bhalswa will process 1,800 metric tonnes of fresh waste daily, Okhla 1,400 metric tonnes, Narela Bawana 1,200 metric tonnes Ghazipur 800 metric tonnes and Singhola 700 metric tonnes.
The initiative comes as Delhi continues efforts to clear decades-old legacy waste from its landfill sites. The deadline for clearing waste at Okhla and Bhalswa has been extended from July 2026 to December 2026 while remediation at Ghazipur is scheduled for completion by December 2027.
Officials said Delhi generates around 10,000 metric tonnes of fresh municipal waste every day across its 12 zones making it difficult to reduce landfill volumes as new waste continues to arrive.
Among the three major landfill sites, Bhalswa remains the most burdened receiving more than 3,500 metric tonnes of fresh waste daily. As an interim measure the MCD had earlier reduced the amount of waste transported there from distant areas.
Officials added that remediation work has progressed faster at Bhalswa and Okhla than at Ghazipur. The slower pace at Ghazipur has been attributed to the lack of a designated disposal site for processed waste, preventing the agency from clearing treated material.
The civic body expects the new waste processing facilities to support ongoing landfill remediation efforts by ensuring that freshly generated municipal waste is processed instead of adding to the existing waste mountains.