Latest news with #SWEEP
Time of India
23-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Gurgaon MCG forms cell to monitor waste pickup, sweeping
Gurgaon: MCG on Monday constituted a cell to supervise sanitation related work in the city. The cell will monitor door-to-door waste collection, road sweeping, management of legacy waste at Bandhwari landfill site and handling of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Additional commissioner Ravinder Yadav was designated as the cell's nodal officer to oversee operations. The cell also includes consultants and a team of data entry operators who will handle daily monitoring and reporting duties. "The cell will oversee multiple sanitation aspects, including doorstep waste collection, road sweeping, identification of vulnerable waste points, and monitoring of bulk waste generators. It will also supervise waste transportation to the Bandhwari site and construction waste management," said a senior MCG official. The cell's responsibilities include GPS tracking, media monitoring, and analysis of complaints received through multiple platforms and data analysis for identifying operational issues related to vehicles, workforce, and resources. The cell will submit its reports to MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya. TOI reported on June 19 that MCG spent nearly Rs 290 crore on sanitation since the solid waste environment exigency programme (SWEEP) was implemented in Gurgaon from June 12, 2024, to June 1, 2025. Despite that, garbage dumps still pockmark the city, and construction and demolition waste lines roadsides in pockets. Waste collection and processing are still marked by ad hocism. The corporation has not been able to meet National Green Tribunal-set targets to clear legacy waste from the Bandhwari landfill or find an alternative site. Moreover, an additional 15 operators were appointed to strengthen the city's sanitation monitoring system. MCG officials said that these operators demonstrated coordination between sanitation and engineering departments through the call centre during recent heavy rainfall to address the waterlogging issues.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Gurgaon is cleaner but still far from clean after a year of SWEEPing. Here's why
Gurgaon: This time last year, the city had found itself under a garbage siege. Every other turn or roadside corner had heaps of municipal waste rotting away. Near markets and mall parking lots, at entrances to metro stations, and on the most upscale avenues, the problem had spread like rash. This state of affairs forced the state govt to declare a solid waste exigency on June 12, 2024. Municipal management, which the corporation had utterly failed at, was handed over to a committee that was tasked with implementing Solid Waste Environment Exigency Programme (SWEEP). This June 1, the SWEEP mandate officially came to an end. According to MCG records, the civic body spent nearly Rs 290 crore on sanitation in this period. Is the city cleaner for it? Yes. Is the job done? No. Though SWEEP managed to clean up last year's mess, waste collection and processing are still marked by ad hocism. Garbage dumps still pockmark the city, and construction and demolition waste lines roadsides in pockets. The corporation has not been able to meet National Green Tribunal-set targets to clear legacy waste from the Bandhwari landfill or find an alternative site. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 임플란트 29만원 이벤트 임플란트 더 알아보기 Undo And it's still struggling with waste collection from households and its proper segregation. Sanitary inspectors for monitoring MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya, who assumed office on May 7 this year, promises there will be visible improvements in three months. He says the corporation is formulating a detailed development strategy for the city and doesn't hesitate to admit that sanitation operations have been marred by "insufficient oversight". To address this concern, MCG has requested Haryana govt to appoint 144 assistant sanitary inspectors through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam. These inspectors will be tasked with overseeing sanitation operations and ensuring consistent cleanliness standards. Additionally, they will be responsible for monitoring deployment and utilisation of vehicles and equipment. "We are currently in the process of streamlining the system and changes will reflect within three months. The objective of hiring sanitary inspectors is monitoring to ensure our roads are swept regularly, machinery, vehicles, etc are utilised properly, and all sanitation work is carried out efficiently. Besides this, we have tenders for door-to-door waste collection and a separate tender for clearing garbage vulnerable points. My aim is to carry out result-driven tasks and change will be seen in three months," says Dahiya. There are currently 5,824 sanitation workers employed by MCG for the city. The urban local bodies (ULB) department has developed a solid waste management (SWM) portal and mandated the attendance of the sanitation staff through it based on which their salaries will be disbursed. New agencies, backup trash vans The civic body's current focus is on hiring agencies for door-to-door waste collection. For this, three agencies are to be hired since the city will be divided into three clusters for doorstep waste collection. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 424 crore and the duration of the contract is five years, with a two-year extension if work is satisfactory. "Once our doorstep waste collection is robust and contractors ensure waste collected is segregated at source and dumped only at designated waste collection points, waste won't be seen dumped along roads," a senior MCG official told TOI. ULB secretary Vikas Gupta has approved a proposal to hire 400 light commercial vehicles (LCVs), which will be deployed in each of the city's four zones for six months, or until a concessionaire is hired. The interim arrangement, estimated to cost Rs 12 crore, comes with specific instructions — the vehicles won't be authorised to collect user charges from residents. The state govt will decide on user fee collection once a dedicated agency is appointed, according to officials. Debris still awaits concrete solution For C&D (construction and demolition) waste management, MCG plans to use compact, movable processing units. MCG will also assess the possibility of obtaining land within the Global City development zone to set up a permanent C&D waste processing facility, according to sources. Additional commissioner-1 Yash Jaluka has been assigned to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the functioning and efficiency of the city's only C&D waste processing facility at Basai. As a temporary solution to the construction waste problem, MCG has initiated the tender process to hire an agency to clear 6 lakh MT of debris piled along roads. For Bandhwari, MCG will prepare a comprehensive three-month plan to clear the landfill. MCG plans to identify a separate site to divert fresh waste. Two agencies, which are currently engaged in legacy waste processing, have been issued a show cause notice and warned that they will be blacklisted if work does not pick up pace. The agencies were contracted to process 14 lakh metric tonnes of waste out of which they have processed only 1.5 lakh MT. Local processing plan yet to move Decentralised waste processing is also in works to streamline the city's sanitation, says Dahiya. However, no concrete step has been taken yet in that direction. According to SWM rules, 2016, local authorities should set up material recovery facilities (MRFs) or secondary storage facilities with sufficient space to sort recyclable materials. This will enable informal or authorised waste collectors to separate and collect recyclable materials such as paper, plastic, metal, glass, textile, etc from waste, reducing the overall waste load that goes to the landfill and needs to be processed. Gauri Sarin, convener of a citizen's group called Making Model Gurugram, says she has shared a plan with govt for residential societies, plotted colonies, and commercial bulk waste generators to go for in-situ waste management. "We can significantly reduce the amount of waste monthly and yearly going to the landfill considering the large number of highrises bulk waste generators in Gurgaon. The second part of the plan that we have proposed is to have two to three CBGs (compressed biogas plants) in each zone. These can be 50 to 100 metric tonnes capacity. If MCG provides two acres of land in each zone, these can be easily established," adds Sarin.
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
MCG hires three agencies to collect waste for six months
Gurgaon: MCG has finalised three agencies for temporary door-to-door waste collection across the city after the contract with the existing private firm expired on Wednesday. Work orders will be issued once the urban local bodies (ULB) department grants formal approval, officials said. The arrangement is part of a stopgap measure until a long-term concessionaire is selected under a five-year contract for solid waste management. The three selected agencies will be engaged for six months to ensure uninterrupted doorstep waste collection. "We have got three agencies, which will provide us with waste collection vehicles so that the residents don't have to face any inconvenience," said MCG executive engineer Sunder Sheoran. He added that approval from the ULB department was expected by Wednesday, after which work orders would be issued. "We are going to ensure a smooth transition," he said. The move comes in the wake of persistent complaints from residents over irregular services provided by the earlier agency, which was hired in June 2024 following the implementation of the Solid Waste Environment Exigency Programme (SWEEP) in the city. tnn
Time of India
15-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
No more than 10 waste collection points, corpns told
Gurgaon: The urban local bodies (ULB) department has directed municipal corporations, including the municipal corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) and municipal corporation of Faridabad (MCF), to restrict the number of secondary waste collection points to a maximum of 10. Any request for additional sites must be submitted in writing, backed by documented justification, officials said. The directive was issued following a meeting chaired by ULB commissioner and secretary Vikas Gupta, where officials emphasised minimising such intermediate waste handling points. "Municipal corporations must limit themselves to 10 collection points. If more are needed, they must formally approach the chairperson," an MCG official told TOI. According to MCG records, the city currently has 14 official secondary waste collection points. However, several unofficial dumping spots continue to operate across the city. These secondary points act as transfer stations for waste collected from households, which is later moved to the landfill. The policy also outlines that municipal committees should operate without any such points, while municipal councils are allowed a maximum of five. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top Dermatologist: Don't Use Lotions On Dark Spots! Use This Household Item Instead Miami M.D. Undo Critics of the current system argue that the focus should shift from waste collection points to segregation. "In a city like Gurgaon, there should be no need for these secondary points. If we achieve 100% segregation, dry waste can go to recyclers and wet waste can be composted at the source," said Pardeep Padam, councillor from Ward 4. Residents have also raised concerns about frequent waste fires at these points. "Reducing the number of collection sites is important, but it's equally crucial that waste is properly managed at these points," said Rajesh Khurana, a DLF Phase III resident. Following the declaration of a solid waste emergency by the state govt on June 12 last year, the solid waste environment exigency programme (SWEEP) was rolled out to improve ground-level waste management
CBC
13-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Saskatoon program helps former inmates rebuild lives and clean up community
An initiative in Saskatoon is helping people who've had trouble with the law find work. The Saskatoon Wellbeing Employment Enterprise Program (SWEEP) works in partnership with the city and is operated by Quint Development Corporation, a community non-profit. The program provides employment opportunities for people leaving incarceration or who may face significant barriers to entering the workforce. Members of the program work in the community on tasks like garbage and needle collection, biological waste removal and graffiti clean-up. "We look to mobilize our team, which is composed mostly of folks who have at some point in time been connected to [the] justice [system], and focus their efforts on healing the community in a variety of different ways," program manager Aaron Timoshyk said in an interview. Timoshyk said the program is for people struggling to find or keep a job, or experiencing discrimination. "If we can help those folks find an avenue out of their situation and then use them in a positive way in the community, it could just have an amplified effect," Timoshyk said. Members also collect scrap metal, appliances, tires, mattresses and other items, which they sort to streamline waste management before it goes to the landfill. "The nature of their offences in the past or some of their current struggles makes it easy to lose hope," Timoshyk said. "Once they realize they have a safe place here, you genuinely start to see people start to dream. "Maybe I can get a house, maybe I can save up for a car. Maybe I'm interested in the trades. I think what it allowed some people to do is imagine a future for themselves." SWEEP crew members also receive life-skills training and wraparound support, including assistance with housing, family reconnection and navigating parole, according to a news release. Michaela De Curtis is the executive director at CoSA Ottawa, a program that helps sexual offenders reintegrate into the community. She said restorative justice is more effective. "It's not the most widely used option, but restorative justice is really about meeting the needs of everybody. That includes the victim, the community, and the person who has offended for our program," she said. She said CoSA focuses on providing a non-judgmental environment with wrap-around support, while working with other community organizations to make sure all the needs of the individuals in the program are met.
