The ongoing crisis in the Middle East could delay the deployment of 70 mechanical road sweeping machines (MRSMs) that were expected to nearly double Delhi’s mechanised road-sweeping fleet ahead of the winter pollution season. As a contingency plan, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has initiated the process of hiring 40 additional mechanical road sweepers for four months to augment the existing fleet.
Road dust remains a significant contributor to Delhi’s air pollution. At present, the corporation’s mechanical sweeping fleet is primarily deployed on Delhi’s major arterial roads. Road dust is considered one of the major sources of particulate pollution in the capital and contributes significantly to elevated PM10 levels. The study identified potholes, unpaved roads and broken footpaths as major contributors to road dust. PM10 particles are relatively heavier and generally do not travel as far as finer particulate matter, but prolonged exposure to particulate pollution can affect respiratory health.
The civic body currently operates 66 mechanical road sweepers, which are deployed across around 1,400 km of arterial roads with a width of more than 60 feet. As an interim backup, the MCD has also floated a pan-India tender for hiring 40 MRSMs on September 29. The additional machines are proposed to be hired for four months to ensure that mechanised road sweeping capacity is available during the crucial winter pollution period if the 70 awarded machines are not delivered on time. A 2018 source-apportionment study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) estimated that dust could account for up to 25% of Delhi’s air pollution. With the winter pollution season approaching, the MCD’s contingency tender for 40 additional sweepers is intended to ensure that any delay in the arrival of the 70 machines does not leave a gap in the city’s mechanised road-cleaning capacity, official said.
The MCD official said the airlifting of the machines was undertaken as part of efforts to strengthen its mechanised sanitation infrastructure on an expedited basis and improve preparedness for the upcoming air pollution season.
A trial of one of the airlifted models was conducted outside the Civic Centre on October 1. The machines were brought to Delhi for field trials as part of the larger project to deploy 70 MRSMs, with funding support from the Department of Environment. Of the 70 machines planned under the project, 55 will be electric-vehicle-based and 15 will run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
