For many decades, India's growing cities have been dealing with waste by hiding it from public view. Over time, municipal dumps have turned into huge mountains of mixed garbage, often located near residential areas, informal settlements, and roads.
This raises the question: what happens when a city finally cleans up one of these mountains? Can land occupied by trash for years become a park, a forest, or another public space? And what will happen to the people whose existence depended on these places?
The Dumpsite Remediation Accelerator Programme (DRAP), launched in November 2025, aims to speed up the cleanup of 214 large old landfills across 200 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). These sites account for 80% of the remaining old waste targeted by the program. The program's goal is to return the land for productive urban use and prevent new landfills by September 2026.
The program covers 200 ULBs and provides for the complete remediation of the 214 most complex landfills in the Union's states and territories. The scale of the task is significant, but the experience of cities already engaged in remediating such sites shows that the issue goes beyond simply removing old waste. It involves making decisions about the fate of the restored land, where the extracted material goes, and whether the people who have worked with waste for years will have a place in the new system.
Gorakhpur: Former dump transformed into an eco-park
In Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, a 40-acre site that served as the city's main waste disposal area for seven years was converted into the Kachre Se Kanchan Rapti eco-park by September 2026. The remediation process involved processing about 400 tons of accumulated waste daily. Instead of viewing the site as a permanent dump, the project aimed to restore the land and give it a public function.
After cleanup, the area was developed as a public space, including green lawns, walking and running paths, a children's play area, an open gym, and a yoga zone. Solar lighting and water-saving systems were also installed. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the park also has a livelihood component: a restaurant on the premises is managed by the women's self-help group Shakti Ki Rasoi. It is reported that the park attracts about 500 visitors daily.
Raichur: Returning landfills to green zones
In Raichur, Karnataka, the restoration process at the Yakalaspura landfill is following a different scenario. Instead of creating a traditional public park on the remediated land, the project focuses on restoring green cover. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, scientific remediation was carried out on a 35-acre site, resulting in approximately 62,252 metric tons of waste processed by 2026, and nearly 22 acres of land returned to circulation.
Part of the restored area now supports a Miyawaki forest, covering about five to seven acres. The Miyawaki method involves planting a dense mix of local species to stimulate green cover development. This intervention on a former landfill offers potential ecological use for the waste-cleared land. However, tree planting alone does not guarantee the absence of contamination or suitability for any ecological use; soil quality, survival rate of planted species, groundwater conditions, and continuous maintenance are crucial.
Delhi: Bhalswa demonstrates why landfill cleanup takes time
The Bhalswa landfill in Delhi presents a contrasting picture. While in cities like Gorakhpur, public spaces are created on remediated land, Bhalswa illustrates the scale and complexity of processing waste accumulated over decades. The landfill, which has existed since 1994, covers about 70 acres. In June 2022, it contained about 73 lakh metric tons of old waste. Biomining operations began in July of the same year, involving the excavation, processing, and mechanical separation of old waste into various material streams.
As of May 26, 2026, about 43 acres had been remediated. Nevertheless, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, approximately 23.17 lakh metric tons of waste remained to be processed, including both old and fresh. These figures show that remediating a large landfill is a gradual process. Biomining involves separating recoverable materials from mixed waste, with different fractions requiring different destinations. Extracted recyclable materials can enter recycling chains, combustible materials can be converted into waste-to-energy fuel, and soil-like or inert material can be used for suitable purposes, depending on its quality and applicable environmental regulations.
Even after the visible mound has been reduced, the land cannot automatically be considered ready for housing, parks, or other public needs. Essential environmental protection measures remain, including leachate management and fire prevention, as well as monitoring the quality and stability of the remediated surface. Therefore, for communities living near Bhalswa, the measure of success is not just the volume of waste removed, but also the reduction of risks associated with the landfill, proper management of fresh waste, and ensuring that the restored land ultimately serves a clearly defined local purpose.
Pune: What happens to workers involved with waste?
Pune provides an example of how waste recycling workers can be integrated into the city's daily waste management system. SWaCH, a cooperative owned by waste collectors, allows its members to collect segregated waste door-to-door and extract recyclable materials. Workers provide this service to households, earning income from user fees and the sale of recyclables. This model emerged from the organization of Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat, a waste collector union advocating for workers' rights since 1993.
Although Pune's cooperative model itself is not an example of transforming a former dump into a park, it offers a useful way to study the livelihood aspect within remediation. A 2025 study on waste infrastructure in Delhi highlights a related issue. The closure of traditional collection and sorting points, known as dhalas, and their replacement with compactors or other facilities has affected informal waste pickers, especially women. Some have been forced to use their homes for sorting and storing waste, blurring the line between workplace and living space.
Thus, the transition to a new waste management system must consider the people who are already working in the old system. Workers need safe workplaces, protective gear, fair and predictable wages, access to social security, and a significant role in decisions affecting their livelihoods. When establishing new recycling facilities, cities should assess whether experienced waste pickers can be employed or organized into cooperatives to manage part of the system.
The real test begins after remediation
DRAP's national goal is ambitious, but the amount of work remaining is substantial. In January 2026, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs reported that 1,138 landfills had been fully remediated, and 1,020 were in the process of remediation out of a total of 2,488 identified sites containing over 1,000 tons of waste each. Approximately 15.51 crore metric tons of old waste had been processed, and land amounting to 8,484 acres had been returned to circulation.
These figures reflect the scale of the intervention, but they do not, in themselves, indicate whether local residents are experiencing improved air quality, reduced groundwater risks, or if waste recycling workers have secured safer working conditions. Examples from Gorakhpur and Raichur show how remediated land can be utilized, while Bhalswa demonstrates why remediation cannot be measured solely by the visible reduction of the garbage mound.
Therefore, the practical priority for cities is twofold: to responsibly dispose of the waste accumulated over decades and to stop creating new mountains due to inadequate segregation, collection, and recycling. A restored site is only the beginning. Its true value will depend on what replaces the landfill, how effectively the city manages its daily generated waste, how safe the land is for its intended use, and whether the people who have long dealt with this waste are recognized as indispensable workers in the process.