Gurgaon civic body set to hire trolleys, earthmovers for sanitation

Gurgaon: MCG on Thursday initiated the process to hire tractor-trolleys and earthmovers for sanitation work across the city for one year at an estimated cost of Rs 6.42 crore. Officials said the machinery will be deployed with sanitation workers directly employed by the corporation for garbage lifting and road cleaning.The move comes ahead of the expiry of contracts of existing contractors on March 15. Officials said that the move aims to ensure that road sweeping and waste collection from public places, roads and vacant plots are not disrupted."Zone-wise tenders have been floated. The estimated cost for hiring is Rs 1.7 crore for zone 1, Rs 1.05 crore for zone 2, Rs 2.4 crore for zone 3, and Rs 1.3 crore for zone 4," an official said.Currently, Gurgaon has 4,904 sanitation workers, about 400 vehicles for door-to-door waste collection, and 18 mechanised sweeping machines. However, the civic body faces a shortage of equipment. Against a requirement of 42 machines, only 18 are available. MCG has proposed purchasing 20 large and four medium mechanised sweepers, citing the availability of funds.In its annual action plan submitted to Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav in Dec last year, the corporation reiterated the need for additional machines. It identified more than 1,400 km of roads suitable for mechanised sweeping and flagged the shortage as a major constraint.In Jan, the Haryana urban local bodies department approved an extension until March for six agencies involved in manual road sweeping. The extension, costing Rs 127 crore, covers the period from Sept 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. These agencies were initially hired in Sept 2023 for a two-year contract.