The Delhi Municipal Corporation has begun deploying 1,000 battery-operated mechanical litter pickers across the capital’s 250 wards to remove scattered waste from roads and public spaces, with 35 women appointed to operate the cleaning vehicles.
The first phase was launched at the Fixed Compactor Transfer Station plant in M Block, Sarita Vihar, where Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta flagged off 50 machines on Saturday. New vehicles for door-to-door waste collection and transportation were also sent into service during the event.
According to the Municipal Corporation, the litter pickers will be used to collect small pieces of waste from streets and public areas and assist with vacuum cleaning. Of the 1,000 machines being provided to the civic body, 150 have arrived so far. The machines are intended to supplement existing sanitation operations rather than replace the wider network of collection, transfer and processing facilities.
The appointment of 35 women drivers is being presented by the civic administration as part of the programme’s sanitation and workforce objectives. The move expands women’s participation in the operation of municipal cleaning vehicles, while the corporation has said that its broader aim is to make solid waste management more effective, regular and accountable.
Gupta said sanitation and appropriate waste management were among Delhi’s largest challenges. She said the government was working on a long-term plan intended to prevent waste-related problems for residents over the next 15 to 30 years. The measures mentioned during the launch included establishing new waste-to-energy plants, increasing the capacity of existing facilities, setting up e-waste centres and developing biogas plants to manage cattle dung.
The south-east zone is also receiving 428 auto-tippers, 128 e-rickshaws, 25 Tata 407 vehicles for door-to-door collection, 27 refuse compactors, five additional refuse compactors, 30 hook loaders and 100 compactor bins. The corporation said 1,500 steel dustbins, 300 high-density polyethylene dustbins and 10 tipper trucks for transporting horticultural waste were also being made available to strengthen sanitation infrastructure.
The deployment comes as the MCD seeks to connect street-level litter collection with its larger solid waste management system. Mechanical pickers can address scattered waste between regular collection rounds, while compactors, transfer stations and transport vehicles handle the movement of collected waste. The effectiveness of the programme will therefore depend on how consistently the machines are operated, maintained and integrated with collection schedules across wards.
Mayor Pravesh Wahi said the corporation’s objective was to improve the effectiveness, regularity and accountability of solid waste management. Municipal Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar and other civic and government officials attended the launch. The corporation’s stated next step is to continue making the remaining litter pickers and associated sanitation vehicles available across Delhi’s wards.
