Our drinking water will be poisoned if we don’t act now.
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) is planning to build TWO landfills on the banks of the Yamuna - one at Sonia Vihar (150 acres) and another one at Ghonda Gujran (50 acres), both in active floodplains. This is the most dangerous place to build a landfill. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has given a nod to the proposal, ignoring several laws such as the Water Act, 1974, The Environment Protection Act, 1986, the Waste Management Rules, 2016, The Ganga Authority Notification 2016, The NGT judgment dated January 13, 2015, in Maily se Nirmal Yamuna case, the DDA Act and The Zonal Plan for Zone O (river zone).
Delhi Development Authority has finally allotted the land to EDMC too.
Garbage, toxins & heavy metals will flow directly from this landfill into the Yamuna. These toxins will enter our drinking water creating a health crisis.
The Yamuna bank is an active floodplain which drains directly into the river. The area is also highly unstable with seismic activity. Any toxins stored on the banks will spill into the river and poison it.
From the Yamuna, the toxins will enter Delhi’s groundwater and water supply, also the fact that the water table is high in these areas and therefore toxic leachate from the landfills is going to pollute the underground aquifers for all times. The water coming to our homes will become dangerous for us to use or consume.
We need to make sure this landfill does not come up on the Yamuna banks. The landfill must be shifted to a safer site far away from our water supply.
Once the Landfill is built the damage will be done. It will be a bureaucratic nightmare to implement safety measures or shut it down and reverse the damage.
We must show the authorities right away that there is massive public opposition to building a landfill on the Yamuna banks.
We must unite now to protect the Yamuna, our water and our health.
