NDMC steps up mechanised cleaning under ‘broom-free city’ drive

New Delhi: Pushing its flagship ‘broom-free city’ initiative aimed at fully mechanised sanitation, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has expanded the deployment of machines for a range of cleaning operations across its area.

On Friday, NDMC chairman Keshav Chandra flagged off 20 battery-operated litter-picking machines, or gobblers, to strengthen cleaning in markets and other high-footfall areas.

“The move is a significant step towards modernising urban sanitation and reducing dependence on manual sweeping through technology-driven solutions that improve efficiency, worker safety and sustainability,” said Chandra. He added that the low-noise, eco-friendly machines will help in efficient cleaning of public spaces.

NDMC is also using electric e-carts for segregated waste collection from major public spaces such as Connaught Place, Khan Market and Sarojini Nagar. In addition, 27 wet-mopping trolleys have been deployed for daily wet cleaning of market areas.

The civic body has a fleet of seven mechanised road-sweeping (MRS) machines for cleaning major arterial roads, leaf blowers for collecting dry leaves and high-pressure jetting machines for dust suppression. Litter pickers are used for final sweeping operations.

Officials said 10 high-pressure jetting machines are deployed on a rotational basis every 15 days for deep cleaning and dust suppression in markets, corridors, plazas, footpaths and kerbside areas. The seven MRS machines together cover around 350-400 km of roads daily.

For narrower lanes and colonies where large machines cannot operate, 29 pushback or manual sweepers have been deployed. NDMC has also introduced four ride-on sweepers and four scrubbers for mechanised cleaning of footpaths in pedestrian-heavy zones.

Chandra said the integrated approach would ensure better sequencing of activities, optimal resource use and sustained improvement in cleanliness across NDMC areas, helping set new benchmarks in urban sanitation.