Mayor questions MCD’s waste collection claims, seeks response to queries

New Delhi
Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Tuesday questioned the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD’s) claims of door-to-door waste collection by private concessionaires, alleging collusion of municipal officials with concessionaires over a lack of proper waste collection.
In a letter to municipal commissioner Ashwani Kumar, Oberoi said she found garbage accumulation at several points during an inspection of multiple wards. She sought a report within two days, detailing the extent of the problem, the reason behind the lack of performance and remedial measures.
In the two-page communication, Oberoi cited complaints she has been receiving from councillors across MCD wards, and complaints that waste collection agencies are failing to carry out daily door-to-door collection from their wards which is creating “unhygienic conditions” and could also become a “source for propagation of several diseases.”
An MCD official said: “Mayor is well aware of issues and challenges in the solid waste management in Delhi. The information sought by mayor will be provided to her. She has already been requested more than once to use her good offices to get the dues of the MCD released from the Delhi government.”
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The area under MCD is divided into 12 administrative zones, where waste collection is managed by a private concessionaire. Delhi generates around 11,000 tonne of waste per day, which is transported from zones to secondary collection points and further to landfill sites and waste processing facilities.
Oberoi said that over the past few weeks, she visited Lado Sarai, Madipur, Vikaspuri, Patel Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Janakpuri, Mahavir Enclave, Mohan Garden and Bindapur for ground checks.
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“In several areas of these wards, I found that there was no door-to-door collection happening at all and piles of garbage had accumulated at several points… carrying out door-to-door collection of waste isn’t just a mandatory contractual obligation of the waste collection agencies, it is also a statutory responsibility of the MCD under Section the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016, as notified by the Government of India, which states the following duties and responsibilities of all local authorities,” the letter said.
Atul Goyal, who heads United RWAs Joint Action, a collective body of resident welfare associations, said that the claim of 100% door-to-door collection of waste by MCD is untrue. “There is a mixed system running in Delhi. Some people have been engaging private waste collectors for several years, who take waste to dhalao. Ideally, they should have been absorbed by the MCD for primary collection,” he said.
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Goyal said in other areas, auto-tippers ferry waste and pass through lanes in the morning, but there is no door-to-door collection.
“Given the severity of this issue and the fact that this might be happening in many wards across Delhi, the commissioner (MCD) is directed to share his responses to the questions within two days, i.e. by 5pm on Thursday, September 26,” the letter said.
Oberoi also sought to know if the commissioner was aware of the extent of the problem and the measures that need to be taken to ensure a timely resolution of the matter.