The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday scrapped a proposal seeking dumping of garbage in two abandoned sites identified by NDMC and SDMC from three landfill sites – Bhalswa, Okhla and Ghazipur.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said that the governments should find permanent solution for the dumping of garbage for atleast 20 years.

“The waste should be degraded. This solution is just a band-aid and not a permanent solution. The landfill sites should be scientifically certified,” the green panel said.

The green panel was acting on the matter in which it had taken suo motu cognizance.

Taking suo motu cognizance of an article Below Mountains of Trash Lie Poison Lakes, the NGT had directed the authorities to follow the Indore model of biomining in solving the problem instead of limiting the landfills.

The article had cited how landfill sites were polluting underground aquifers thereby forcing people living in nearby areas to drink water polluted by sewage.

—India Legal Bureau