The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has begun deploying 1,000 battery-operated mechanical litter pickers to remove scattered waste from roads and public spaces across the city’s 250 wards, in a move aimed at strengthening everyday sanitation operations. The first 50 machines were flagged off from the Fixed Compactor Transfer Station plant in M Block, Sarita Vihar, on Saturday.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta launched the first phase of the deployment. The corporation also flagged off new vehicles for door-to-door waste collection and transportation. Thirty-five women drivers have been appointed to operate sanitation vehicles, adding a workforce participation component to the new municipal initiative.
According to the report, the battery-operated machines are designed to pick up small litter from roads and public areas and assist with vacuum cleaning. The corporation is being provided 1,000 such machines, of which 150 have arrived so far. The initial rollout of 50 machines represents the first publicly announced deployment under the programme.
Gupta said sanitation and proper waste management remain among Delhi’s biggest challenges. She said the government was working on a long-term plan intended to prevent waste-management problems from continuing over the next 15 to 30 years. The plan includes new waste-to-energy plants, capacity expansion at existing facilities, e-waste centres and biogas plants for managing cow dung.
The chief minister said Delhi generates approximately 15,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, while only about 6,000 to 7,000 metric tonnes was previously being processed. The gap, she said, had contributed to the continued growth of waste mountains in and around the capital.
Mayor Pravesh Wahi said the corporation’s objective was to make solid waste management more effective, regular and accountable. The event was attended by Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, Deputy Mayor Monika Pant, Standing Committee chairperson Satya Sharma, Leader of the House Jai Bhagwan Yadav, Standing Committee vice-chairperson Satyapal Singh and Municipal Commissioner Sanjeev Khirwar, among others.
The South-East Zone is also receiving additional sanitation equipment. This includes 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 has also made available 1,500 steel dustbins, 300 high-density polyethylene dustbins and 10 tipper trucks for transporting horticulture waste.
The mechanical litter pickers are being introduced alongside this equipment rather than as a replacement for the broader collection and transport network. Their effectiveness will depend on how consistently they are deployed on litter-prone roads and public spaces, and how their operations are integrated with waste collection, transfer stations and processing facilities.
The next stage of the initiative will involve supplying the remaining machines and expanding their deployment across the corporation’s wards, while the wider waste-management plan includes proposed facilities for waste-to-energy, e-waste and biogas processing.
