New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi has received govt approval for phased release of funds to procure 70 compact mechanical road sweepers and 1,000 battery-operated litter picker machines to tackle dust pollution when next winter sets in. The total cost, estimated at Rs 1,487 crore, will be provided by Delhi govt’s grant-in-aid scheme. Of this, Rs 251 crore will be sanctioned in this financial year. The rest will be released in phases.
“Following an in-principle approval from the environment minister last Nov for tendering purposes, Delhi cabinet gave its nod to the project last month. The funds will be released by department of environment and forests, the environment secretary officially declared on Dec 30,” said a corporation official. The civic agency was directed to prepare the nomenclature of the proposed machinery, specifying its features and functioning. “Our teams recently visited Mumbai to study how these compact machines work. Details of our project will soon be placed before the house,” the official said, adding that the corporation expects to start the tendering process next month so that they can be procured before Oct-Nov when pollution levels typically rise in Delhi. With the addition of the 70 new machines, the corporation’s total fleet of mechanical road sweepers will increase to 140 by this Nov. Currently, 52 are operational and 18 more are likely to be procured by the end of Jan. They will primarily be deployed on roads wider than 60 feet. Public Works Department also plans to procure 70 sweepers for roads within its jurisdiction, freeing up the corporation to focus on its own road network, the official said. The corporation currently uses its sweepers to clean on PWD roads, usually wider than 60 feet.The corporation will deploy the vacuum litter pickers at major markets and public places, while the 70 new sweepers will be used on approximately 6,000 km of roads, which are between 30 and 60 feet wide, in 12 zones. “The project for procuring the sweepers — either electric or CNG-based — includes comprehensive operation and maintenance under a service outsourcing model. The litter pickers will be engaged for the life of the machines or for eight to 10 years under the model,” read a letter forwarded by the environment secretary to the corporation. In this model, a third party funds, installs and maintains the assets, while the civic agency pays for the service over time, instead of making a large upfront capital investment.Approval was also granted for the improvement of 106 primary sites that collect construction-and-demolition waste by using metal barricading sheets, informatory boards, water sprinklers and CCTV cameras. Additionally, air quality sensors and sprinkler systems will be installed at 40 locations.
