The Delhi Municipal Corporation has begun deploying 1,000 battery-operated mechanical litter pickers across the capital’s 250 wards to collect scattered waste from roads and public places, while appointing 35 women drivers to operate sanitation vehicles. The initiative was launched as part of a wider effort to strengthen street cleaning, door-to-door waste collection and solid waste management.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta flagged off 50 machines at the Fixed Compactor Transfer Station plant in M Block, Sarita Vihar, on Saturday. New vehicles for collecting and transporting household waste were also launched during the event.
The Municipal Corporation said the machines will be used to pick up small pieces of waste scattered on roads and public spaces. They will also support vacuum cleaning operations. The corporation is expected to receive 1,000 battery-operated picker machines in total, of which 150 have arrived so far.
The appointment of 35 women drivers is intended to increase women’s participation in the operation of sanitation vehicles. The move comes alongside the expansion of cleaning and waste-handling equipment in the South-East Zone, where the corporation has made available 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, 1,500 steel dustbins and 300 high-density polyethylene dustbins. Ten tipper trucks have been provided to transport horticulture waste. These assets are being added to the corporation’s existing sanitation network as it works to improve the collection of waste from streets, homes and public spaces.
Gupta said sanitation and proper waste management were among Delhi’s biggest challenges. According to the report, she said the government was working on a long-term plan intended to prevent waste-management problems for residents over the next 15 to 30 years. The proposed measures include setting up new waste-to-energy plants, increasing the capacity of existing facilities, establishing e-waste centres and developing biogas plants to manage cow dung.
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 deployment is the first reported city-wide rollout of mechanical litter pickers by the corporation. Its immediate implementation will involve placing the machines and associated vehicles into sanitation operations, while the wider waste-management plan will include additional processing, collection and treatment facilities described by the government.
