NEW DELHI: To curb the rising pollution levels in the national capital, the Delhi government has launched an extensive road cleaning operation across all Public Works Department (PWD) roads, with 200 maintenance vans deployed throughout the city.
The operation includes removal of debris from road surfaces, filling potholes on priority, repairing and upgrading road signage and carrying out other essential maintenance tasks. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that strict guidelines have been laid down for the campaign, with individual accountability fixed for each officer. Additionally, separate maintenance vans have been deployed for pruning and trimming trees along PWD roads.
The chief minister stated that coordinated efforts are being undertaken across departments to bring pollution under control. Teams have been formed to monitor polluting industrial units and vehicles, while focused work continues to normalise identified pollution ‘hot spots’. As part of this mission, the PWD has launched a special drive for deep cleaning and dust control along all its roads, including Right of Way (RoW) areas.
Each of the 200 maintenance vans has been tasked with deep cleaning at least 200 metres of road daily. To ensure accountability, every van is placed under the direct charge of a Junior Engineer (JE) or Assistant Engineer (AE). Gupta informed that the work is progressing rapidly across 1,400 kilometres of PWD roads in the capital.
The activities include removal of dust from RoW areas, cleaning of kerb channels and bell mouths, debris removal, coordination with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for cases of regular dumping, cleaning and repair of footpaths, filling of potholes, improvement of road signage, and maintenance of streetlights and exposed wiring. Weekly progress reviews are being conducted by senior officers.
Meanwhile, Delhi Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood on Wednesday chaired a review meeting with senior officials of the MCD. During the meeting, the MCD officials informed that about 14,000 metric tonnes of waste is collected daily in Delhi. The minister directed officials to expedite waste segregation at the source, emphasising that effective segregation is crucial for proper waste management. He said that the modern machinery procured by MCD for cleanliness and pollution control should show visible results.