MCG to set up 10 vending machines for cloth bags

Five such machines are already operational at the MCG office in Sector 34, Sheetla Mata Mandir, Vyapar Kendra in Palam Vihar, Ambience Mall, and Suncity Township in Sector 54.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), in an attempt to make the city plastic-free, has introduced automatic vending machines that dispense cloth bags for ₹10, officials said.

Automatic vending machine for cloth bags installed at Sheetla Mata Mandir. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

In the first phase, 10 vending machines are to be installed at prominent locations across the city — five are already operational at the MCG office in Sector 34, Sheetla Mata Mandir, Vyapar Kendra in Palam Vihar, Ambience Mall, and Suncity Township in Sector 54 — while the remaining five are likely to be installed by the end of the week. Each machine has a capacity of 500 bags, and accepts payments through ₹10 notes, coins, or through UPI.

The project — a collaboration with RSPL Welfare Foundation — will be under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, the officials said.

MCG additional commissioner Dr Balpreet Singh said the initiative aims to encourage citizens to replace single-use plastic bags with reusable cloth bags. “This project is a vital step in promoting environmental sustainability and tackling the menace of plastic pollution. The vending machines are a convenient solution for people to access cloth bags at an affordable price of just ₹10,” he said.

“Using cloth bags is a small but impactful step towards saving the environment and ensuring a healthier future for ourselves and upcoming generations,” he added.

Earlier, in December 2020, MCG had set up a cloth bag bank at Nai Basti near Sadar Market, which has empowered 35 underprivileged women to produce cloth bags, thus providing them with a sustainable livelihood. To date, the cloth bag bank has distributed over 2 million cloth bags, preventing an estimated 10 million plastic bags from being used, civic body officials said.