Gurugram locals flag garbage woes as team finish cleanliness audit

Residents complained of irregular waste collection, with some areas reporting gaps of three to four days between pickups.

A team from Swachh Survekshan completed its cleanliness survey on Saturday to assess sanitation and waste management situation, said Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) officials, adding that the assessment drive continued for a week.

Locals flag sanitation issues in Sector 23A, seen on Saturday, as Swachh Survekshan survey concludes in Gurugram. (HT Photo)

Officials said the team inspected door-to-door waste collection, road sweeping, solid waste management, construction and demolition (C&D) waste and processing systems across the city.

In the 2024-25 Swachh Survekshan, Gurugram ranked 41st nationally and 7th in Haryana, improving significantly from 140th position in 2023-24, though still below 19th rank in 2022.

Preetpal Singh, MCG joint commissioner said the team interacted with sanitation inspectors, workers and residents to assess the sanitation situation.

“This is a surprise visit conducted by the Swachh Survekshan team. Parameters include road cleanliness, condition of public toilets, community parks, garbage vulnerable points (GVPs) and secondary collection points (SCPs), among others,” he added.

Meanwhile, residents raised concerns over sanitation, saying it continues to remain a major issue.

Neeru Yadav, president of the RWA in Sector 23A, said the area has turned into a garbage dumping ground. “There is no cleaning from the MCG’s end. The situation has deteriorated over the past few months. What used to be a model sector, now reeks of garbage,” she said.

Residents also flagged irregular door-to-door waste collection across various sectors, saying that garbage collection vehicles come only once every three to four days.

Abhishek Sharma, vice president of RWA in Palam Vihar C-2 block, said garbage was collected from households after four days on Friday. “The situation improved earlier, but irregularities have started again over the past few weeks,” he said.

“The entire city is filled with garbage. We need a permanent solution, but it seems the civic body is still relying on temporary measures,” said Savita Devi, a Sector 46 resident.

Ravinder Yadav, MCG additional commissioner, said Swachh Survekshan is not a competition but an important mechanism to strengthen urban sanitation systems. “Two major tenders have been floated for door-to-door waste collection and road sweeping. With these five-year contracts, we have also revised certain guidelines, which will help strengthen the sanitation system in the city,” he added.