Road sweeping plan draws calls to fix roads first

New DelhiThe Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD’s) plans to ramp up mechanised sweeping of arterial roads and introduce mechanised process for internal roads by procuring 250 small machines to curb dust pollution by October, officials familiar with the process said, even as residents stressed the need for fixing roads before starting mechanised sweeping, claiming that it would only serve to increase ambient pollution

New Delhi

Residents’ welfare associations say that the corporation should first focus on improving road conditions.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD’s) plans to ramp up mechanised sweeping of arterial roads and introduce mechanised process for internal roads by procuring 250 small machines to curb dust pollution by October, officials familiar with the process said, even as residents stressed the need for fixing roads before starting mechanised sweeping, claiming that it would only serve to increase ambient pollution.

A senior MCD official, who did not wish to be named, said that it has submitted in an action plan to the central government its intention to procure 70 additional larger mechanical sweepers, taking the total to 171, to cover 1,400 kilometres of arterial roads, based on an assessment. While sanitation workers currently sweep internal roads, the assessment found a requirement of 540 smaller mechanised road sweepers to cover 13,000km of internal roads, the official said, sharing plans to acquire 250 smaller machines in the first phase.

To be sure, arterial roads are those having a width of 60 feet or more and are maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD). The MCD is responsible for the upkeep of internal roads, having smaller widths.

“Eighty-nine larger units are in operation and the deployment of 70 more units will largely plug the gap for the larger PWD roads. In case of smaller roads, four units are currently available. In the first phase, MCD has proposed to procure 250 of these smaller units with 2-cubic metre capacity,” the official cited above said.

Dust is one of the biggest sources of pollution in Delhi, and can contribute to as much as 25% of the Capital’s bad air, according to a 2018 source apportionment study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Dust-related pollution shows up as elevated PM10 (particulate matter with diameter of 10 microns or less) levels. The study also found that potholes, unpaved roads and broken footpaths, all of which cause road dust, were the largest source of such particles in the air. The primary pollutant in dust is PM10, which is a heavier particulate matter and hence, cannot travel far but severely affects lungs, causing respiratory diseases.

Residents’ welfare associations say that the corporation should first focus on improving road conditions.

BS Vohra, who heads the East Delhi RWA Joint Front, said that mechanical road sweepers are chiefly seen on main arterial roads, where road conditions are optimal for the use of such machines. “MCD should also focus on improving the road conditions in residential areas for these machines to perform optimally. There is no provisions for inner roads, where manual sweeping only increased ambient air pollution. There is a need for mechanical cleaning but work needs to be done on multiple fronts,” Vohra said.

Ashok Bhasin, who heads the North Delhi Residents Welfare Federation, said that the mechanical cleaning of roads can only be carried out in VIP roads and the problems of rest of Delhi are much deep-rooted. “Majority of roads are in poor state with potholes and lack of even basic patchwork. Machines cannot go inside the narrow lanes; on top of it, roads are badly damaged that mechanical cleaning will only make things worse. MCD should first take up a ward-wise project of identifying and repairing roads,” he said.

Atul Goyal, head of URJA, an apex body of over 2,500 RWAs in the city, said that inner colony road network is in no shape for mechanical cleaning. “Carpeting of colony roads is long overdue. It will be useless to spend so much money of machines before first focusing on the underlying infrastructure. It will only expose the filling material. First, bring the city infrastructure to a level that such services can be extended, rather than focusing on spending money. Capital investment without maintenance is just wastage of public money,” he said.

On April 7, HT reported that the MCD divided the city into three sectors, each covering four zones, for rolling out the mechanised dust control programme. With an outlay of ₹1,415 crore, the MCD planned to deploy 70 additional electric mechanical road sweepers, electric water tankers and dust dumping vehicles, which are expected work in consonance to reduce road dust. One operator will oversee dust control measures using a new fleet of mechanical road sweepers, dust dumpers and water sprinklers.

Responding to concerns regarding damaged roads, a second civic official said that road redevelopment framework is being implemented in a project monitored by the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM). A target of redeveloping 3,654km of road has been set for 2026 and road-owning agencies have been asked to complete 70% of work (2,361km) by October. MCD had been provided a target of relaying around 1,200km of inner colony roads.