Delhi has begun expanding its waste-management machinery and collection network, with the government planning to deploy 1,000 battery-operated mechanical litter pickers across all 250 Municipal Corporation of Delhi wards as it attempts to address the city’s daily garbage burden. Chief minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated a fixed compactor transfer station in Sarita Vihar and flagged off the first batch of 50 machines, along with new waste-collection vehicles operated by 35 newly appointed women drivers.
The planned deployment is part of a wider programme covering door-to-door collection, road and public-space cleaning, waste transportation and processing. According to the report, Delhi generates nearly 15,000 metric tonnes of waste every day. Gupta said only about 6,000-7,000 metric tonnes had previously been processed daily, leaving a large gap between the city’s waste generation and its treatment capacity.
“Sanitation and proper waste management are among Delhi’s biggest challenges,” Gupta said, adding that the government was working on a long-term plan intended to prevent residents from facing waste-management problems over the next 15 to 30 years. The government’s stated objective is to process and dispose of all waste generated in the city on the same day, while preventing further accumulation at landfill sites.
The government said 150 of the 1,000 planned battery-operated litter pickers had arrived and that the remaining units were expected within a month. The machines are intended to collect small pieces of litter from roads and public spaces and support vacuum cleaning. Funds have also been provided for 100 mechanical sweeping machines.
The South-East zone is set to receive additional collection and transportation equipment, including 428 auto-tippers, 128 e-rickshaws, 25 Tata 407 vehicles for door-to-door collection, 27 refuse compactors, five additional compactors and 30 hook loaders. The package also includes 100 compactor bins, 1,500 steel dustbins, 300 HDPE dustbins and 10 tipper trucks for horticultural waste.
The announcement places collection machinery alongside a broader expansion of processing infrastructure. Gupta said work was underway to establish new waste-to-energy plants, increase the capacity of existing plants, create e-waste centres and install biogas plants to manage cow dung. The government is also planning additional sanitation staff and infrastructure, although the report does not specify the total processing capacity expected from each proposed facility or the completion schedule for the wider programme.
The plan also covers waste streams that are often mixed with ordinary municipal garbage. Residents have been asked to deposit unwanted clothes at Arpan centres near metro stations for recycling and reuse. Separate arrangements are being made for broken idols and puja material, while immersion kiosks are planned across all 250 wards. Around 100 kiosks have already been established, according to the chief minister.
The next operational milestones are the arrival of the remaining litter pickers, the deployment of the new equipment in collection operations and the expansion of processing facilities and ward-level arrangements. The government’s stated target is for Delhi’s waste to be collected, processed and disposed of on the same day.
