1 in 5 MCG waste pickup vans out of action

Gurgaon: A large chunk of MCG’s garbage collection vans are out of service, raising questions about the city’s emergency door-to-door waste collection infrastructure, monitoring and accountability. Of 400 vehicles, only 313 were on the ground as of Sunday, exposing a glaring shortfall of 87 vehicles.MCG engaged four agencies as a stopgap solution for six months after the last contract expired. The agencies were supposed to deploy 400 vehicles for door-to-door waste collection across the city from Jan 9 to July 8, 2026. “We have already told the agencies to provide all vehicles as per the contract. If not done so, these agencies will be penalised as per the law,” an MCG official said.In Zone 1, the hired firm had to provide 115 vehicles, but has only 90 available as of Sunday. Zone 2 fares slightly better, with 87 vehicles available out of 101 promised. The agency hired for Zone 3 has managed to provide only 66 vehicles against a commitment of 86, while the agency for Zone 4 emerges as the weakest link, deploying merely 70 out of 98 vehicles.“The agency contracted for our area has not been sending vehicles here for doorstep waste collection, due to which we have now hired a private vendor for waste collection. We have raised the issue a number of times with MCG, but our complaint is not being resolved. The civic body is well aware of the fact that we have a private vendor working for us, who can dump waste anywhere after collection,” said Rajesh Gera, a resident of Surya Vihar.Residents further said that the situation exposes a larger administrative failure. If agencies are unable to provide the full fleet they were contracted for, serious questions arise about penalties, supervision and payment mechanisms.“There are 10 vehicles assigned for our sector in the files. However, on the ground, we are using private carts for doorstep waste collection because these vehicles don’t exist. MCG is paying for these vehicles. MCG records show that 313 vehicles are available, but if proper investigation is done, there won’t be even 200 vehicles on the ground,” said Lalit Suraj Bhola, general secretary of Sector 9A RWA. “We want to know whether contractors are facing any consequences for failing to meet obligations or whether public money is being released despite glaring deficiencies on the ground,” he added.“My ward has been getting only 50% of the vehicles promised since Jan when these agencies were hired for six months. The problem won’t be resolved unless we have dedicated agencies and a long-term contract. Who will purchase vehicles just for six months?” said ward 11 Councillor Kuldeep Yadav.