MCD Forms Panel To Fast-Track Cleaning Of Delhi’s 1,400-km Road Network

A long-standing plan to use mechanical means to clean the 1,400-kilometer network of arterial roads in the Capital has been advanced by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). To expedite the completion of a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the project, which also includes dust control and scrubbing measures, a seven-member committee has been established.

Currently, MCD operates 52 mechanical road sweepers on this road network, which includes sections that are at least 60 feet wide. A disagreement over the transfer of roads from MCD to the Public Works Department (PWD) was one of the delays that hampered the initiative's progress after it was first introduced in January 2023 by the then-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

Later, it was decided that the MCD would continue to manage the project's execution and that it would increase its mechanical capacity in order to provide complete maintenance coverage.

MCD intends to clean the roads using roughly 15,000 kiloliters of treated water as part of the project. Despite spending almost two years in the planning stage, the plan made headway on April 4 when the Delhi cabinet approved the environment department's proposal to buy 250 water sprinkling vehicles equipped with anti-smog guns and 70 mechanical sweeping machines.

The new committee has also suggested that the cleaning be done "wall-to-wall," which includes the central verges and walkways, in addition to the central carriageways. Furthermore, MCD employees who are currently sweeping PWD roads by hand will be moved to locations where mechanized sweeping is impractical.

Regarding the most recent development, Mayor Mahesh Kumar has not yet responded.