For decades, India's growing cities have dealt with their waste by moving it out of sight. Over time, municipal dumping grounds have grown into mountains of mixed garbage, often close to homes, informal settlements and roads. 

But what happens when a city finally clears one of these mountains? Can land occupied by garbage for years become a park, a forest or another public space? And what happens to the people who have depended on these sites for their livelihoods?

The Dumpsite Remediation Accelerator Programme (DRAP), launched in November 2025, seeks to accelerate the cleanup of 214 major legacy dumpsites across 200 urban local bodies (ULBs). These sites account for 80% of the remaining legacy waste targeted under the programme, which aims to reclaim land for productive urban use while preventing the creation of new dumpsites by September 2026.

The programme covers 200 ULBs and targets complete remediation of 214 of the most challenging dumpsites across states and Union territories. The scale of the task is considerable, but the experiences of cities already working on or reclaiming such sites show that the challenge extends beyond removing old waste. It involves deciding what happens to the recovered land, where the extracted material goes, and whether the people who have worked with waste for years have a place in the new system.

1. Gorakhpur: A former dumping ground becomes an eco-park

In Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, a 40-acre site that had served as the city's primary waste disposal ground for seven years has been transformed into the Kachre Se Kanchan Rapti Eco Park, in September 2026.

The remediation involved processing around 400 tonnes of accumulated waste every day. Instead of treating the site as a dumping ground indefinitely, the project sought to recover the land and give it a public-facing purpose.

The cleared site was subsequently developed into a public space with green lawns, walking and jogging tracks, a children's play area, an open gym and a yoga zone. Solar lighting and water-conservation structures were also incorporated.

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the park also has a livelihood component. A women-led self-help group, Shakti Ki Rasoi, operates a restaurant on the premises. The park reportedly attracts around 500 visitors daily.

2. Raichur: Reclaiming a dumpsite for green cover

In Raichur, Karnataka, the reclamation of the Yakalaspura dumpsite is taking a different route. Rather than developing a conventional public park across the reclaimed land, the project includes restoring green cover.

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