Delhi mechanised sweepers cover 35-40% of wider roads: CAQM

Delhi’s mechanised road sweepers clean only 35-40% of the capital’s large and medium roads, usually on alternate days, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has found.

The city has nearly 100 mechanised road-sweeping machines against an assessed requirement of 172. A CAQM official said the machines operate across roads measuring about 15,000 km. Because a four-lane road must be swept four times, each machine currently covers up to 30 km a day—below CAQM’s 40-km benchmark for large and medium machines during an eight-hour shift.

About 70% of Delhi’s road network is less than 10 metres wide and is swept manually. CAQM said machines cannot operate on stretches blocked by encroachments or illegally parked vehicles, while potholes and unpaved surfaces also limit their use.

Road dust contributes 42% of Delhi’s PM10 and 38% of its PM2.5 pollution in summer, according to a 2018 study by TERI and the Automotive Research Association of India.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi said it is procuring 70 machines for roads wider than 30 feet. In September, the Delhi government approved 30 smaller electric sweepers for narrower roads.