Mechanised sweepers to clean Delhi's streets

Looking to improve Delhi's cleanliness record before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi plans to engage private contractors to deploy mechanical sweepers to clean the city's roads.

The proposed scheme, expected to cover only roads having a width of 100 feet or more, will be implemented in all 12 zones of the MCD.

The civic body plans to enter into a contract for seven years with a firm or consortium that will use mechanised sweepers fitted with global position systems or wireless systems to clear roads and service lanes, footpaths, and central verges of rubbish, debris, and other waste.

A proposal to this effect will be brought before the next meeting of the MCD house for approval, officials said.

The bidder will also be responsible for cleaning of bell-mouths to ensure smooth flow of storm water in drains.

The sweeping work will have to be undertaken at least once a day, failing which the contractor will be fined double the amount payable to him.

The MCD hopes that the quality of cleaning work by the mechanised sweepers will be better than that of departmental sanitation staff. It plans to deploy the surplus safai karamcharies to colonies recently handed over the by Delhi Development Authority or other agencies.

"These mechanised sweepers will be state-of-the-art machines with suction technology," an official said.

Under the contract, the bidder will quote the rates prior to signing an agreement while there is a provision for an increase by 3.5% every year.

For monitoring the performance of the contractor, the civic agency will appoint an independent consultant.

Under another key scheme of the MCD — the door-to-door garbage-collection project, which is being started on a pilot basis in the Civil Lines area and Rohini, the civic agency plans to segregate solid waste at individual houses.

The MCD will spend Rs50.4 crore for providing green and white bins of 12 litre capacity to each house owner. The green bin will be meant for bio-degradable waste and the white for recyclable waste.

The bins will be purchased after calling for tenders and distributed accordingly.

The scheme involves collection of waste after primary segregation into bio-degradable and non-bio-degradable, transferring these to processing plants for recycling or compost production, and sending the remaining parts into sanitary landfill sites.

Auto-tippers will travel from door to door collecting garbage while the dalaos (local dumping grounds) will be phased out.