The Delhi government has launched a plan to deploy 1,000 battery-operated mechanical litter-picking machines across all 250 wards of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), alongside new waste-collection equipment and facilities to address the capital’s daily waste burden.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced the initiative while inaugurating a waste transfer station in Sarita Vihar and launching the first phase of the deployment. Fifty machines were flagged off initially, while 150 of the planned 1,000 machines have arrived and the remaining equipment is expected to be delivered within the next month, according to a government statement.
The machines are intended to collect small pieces of litter from roads and public spaces and support routine cleaning operations. The government has also provided funds for 100 mechanical sweeping machines. Gupta said Delhi generates nearly 15,000 metric tonnes of waste each day, while only 6,000-7,000 metric tonnes could earlier be processed.
The chief minister said the gap between waste generation and processing had contributed to the growth of the city’s landfill sites. “Waste management is our top priority; the government is working on a long-term plan for the next 15-30 years,” she said.
The government said it is working to establish new waste-to-energy plants, expand the capacity of existing facilities, set up e-waste centres and install biogas plants to process cow dung. It has also said the objective is to ensure that waste generated each day is processed and disposed of on the same day.
In the MCD’s South-East Zone, approvals have been granted for 428 auto-tippers, 128 e-rickshaws, 25 Tata 407 vehicles for door-to-door collection, 27 refuse compactors, five additional refuse compactors and 30 hook loaders. The zone also has 100 compactor bins. The government has supplied 1,500 steel dustbins, 300 high-density polyethylene dustbins and 10 tipper trucks for transporting horticultural waste.
The plan also includes separate collection systems for materials that are often mixed with household waste. Gupta urged residents to use designated facilities for unwanted clothes and religious materials. The government has set up ‘Arpan’ centres near metro stations to collect old clothes for reuse and recycling, and is planning immersion kiosks in all 250 MCD wards for broken idols and puja materials. Around 100 such kiosks have already been established, according to the chief minister’s address.
The government has appointed 35 women drivers to operate vehicles used for door-to-door waste collection and transportation. Delhi Mayor Pravesh Wahi urged residents to segregate wet and dry waste, hand over household garbage through designated collection systems and avoid littering public places. The newly announced machines, vehicles and processing facilities will now be rolled out through the MCD’s ward-level sanitation operations.
