'I took my last selfie with the garbage mountain' — CM Rekha Gupta vows to clean Delhi
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta pledges to eliminate the city's landfills, announcing new waste processing plants and land reclamation efforts at Okhla and Ghazipur.
In a powerful symbolic gesture, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has declared war on the city's notorious landfill sites. Standing before the massive heaps of waste, the Chief Minister announced that she took a "final selfie" with a garbage mountain, vowing that it would be the last time such a photo is ever taken in the national capital.
Speaking during an inspection of the Okhla landfill site on Saturday, CM Gupta expressed her determination to ensure these mountains of waste vanish for good. "Today, I took my last selfie with the garbage mountain; I have pledged that this mountain of waste will soon be gone," she stated, marking a personal and political milestone in the city's environmental struggle.
The Vanishing Mountains
The Chief Minister highlighted that the massive accumulations of waste are already showing signs of retreat. Reflecting on previous criticism from political opponents, she noted that while they once mocked her demand for the removal of the landfills, the reality on the ground is now proving them wrong.
"I had once said, 'Garbage mountain, you must go,' and the opposition mocked me. Today, I say, 'The garbage mountain is vanishing; only the spine remains,'" Gupta remarked. She added that whenever the media inquires about the status of the landfills, the shrinking size of the mountains serves as the ultimate proof of progress.
Massive Infrastructure and Land Reclamation
The government's strategy involves a dual-front battle: clearing the "legacy waste" that has accumulated over years while simultaneously preventing new waste from piling up. To facilitate this, several high-capacity waste processing sites have been inaugurated and expanded:
- Okhla: Currently processing 1,400 metric tonnes daily.
- Singhola: Processing 800 metric tonnes daily.
- Ghazipur: Processing 700 metric tonnes daily.
The Chief Minister emphasized that the state government is actively working to increase these capacities to ensure that daily waste is managed across all locations simultaneously. A major success of this mission has been the reclamation of 100 acres of land from the Bhalswa, Ghazipur, and Okhla landfill sites, providing much-needed relief to the residents living in the vicinity.
Eco-friendly Innovations: Recycling Idols
In a move toward more sustainable waste management, the administration has also established dedicated facilities for recycling damaged idols. This initiative aims to prevent religious artifacts from being discarded into rivers or dumped at landfills, ensuring a more respectful and environmentally conscious disposal process.
Following her on-ground inspection, CM Gupta took to social media to reiterate that the entire administration is working in "mission mode." She confirmed that timelines have been set and that thousands of tons of waste are being processed every single day to meet the ultimate goal of a garbage-free Delhi.