Policy Paralysis at the Dumping Grounds: Investigating State Inaction Amid Delhi’s Escalating Landfill Catastrophe

Abstract

This paper is about the improper management of landfill sites in Delhi and how it has become a big curse for the people who are residing in the vicinity. The paper highlights the interconnection between government, environmental damage and social inequality. Despite having several international conventions and domestic laws State has failed in providing a safe and healthy environment to the people of the city. India's laws for managing garbage, which were established by the Environment Protection Act of 1986 and specific standards for municipal solid waste, plastics, bio-medical waste, hazardous waste, and e-waste, seem to be complete only on paper. The landfills at Okhla, Bhalswa, and Ghazipur have been overflowing for past so many years and are a grave threat to both human health and the environment. The uncontrolled production of leachate has led to severe contamination of groundwater and has put the lives of nearby residents at risk. Despite the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and other national and international policy goals, scientific landfill management and source segregation are still not widely used. More than 80% of municipal waste is being disposed of untreated. Who is responsible and answerable for this disaster? Urban planning bodies, municipal corporations, and pollution control boards or all of them? The paper will provide a deep insight into the reasons behind this problem. The paper highlights that the landfill disaster in Delhi projects failure on the part of the State. To resolve this crisis, a collaborative approach between different governmental agencies and departments, like CPCB, DPCC, etc., to be encouraged. The study highlights that mismanagement of landfills is a clear indicator of failure of governmental responsibility. The primary duty of the State is to protect the environmental health and physical health of its people, and to accomplish this goal, certain strict and effective measures to be adopted. The author highlights those mechanisms in the paper.