Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday, 17 October 2025, flagged off primary and secondary waste collection and transportation vehicles for door-to-door garbage collection across six wards of the Central Zone. The initiative is part of the nationwide Seva Sankalp Abhiyan, which is set to conclude in Delhi on 18 October.

What Was Launched

The flagging-off ceremony covered a range of waste management equipment, including compactors — large machines installed at garbage collection points that compress accumulated waste to one-tenth of its original size — and dumper trucks for transporting wet and dry waste to landfills. Sarita Vihar ward, under the Okhla Assembly constituency, was among the areas where compactors were formally inaugurated.

Union Minister and Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Harsh Malhotra, who was also present at the event alongside other Delhi BJP leaders, explained the operational logic: 'Compactors are large machines installed at garbage collection points where waste used to accumulate throughout the day. Now, garbage will continue to be collected at these points but will be placed inside large machines called compactors, which will compress it to one-tenth of its original size. The compacted garbage will then be transported by trucks to landfills for disposal.'

Government and MCD Coordination

Malhotra noted that both the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will jointly operate the new fleet. He said the state government is channelling adequate funds to the MCD, enabling the civic body to scale up such initiatives. 'Machines for waste collection have been flagged off across Delhi. Dumpers have also been provided for this zone. These are large vehicles that will transport wet and dry waste,' he said.

Political Context

Malhotra also took aim at the previous administration, alleging it had 'financially weakened the municipal corporation.' He credited Chief Minister Gupta's tenure — now roughly one and a half years old — with reversing that trend and restoring the MCD's operational capacity. Such claims remain contested, and the opposition has not yet formally responded to Friday's event.

About the Seva Sankalp Abhiyan

The Seva Sankalp Abhiyan is a nationwide public service campaign observed from 17 September to 17 October, launched to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthday. In Delhi, the month-long drive has seen government departments conduct registration drives, cleanliness campaigns, and plantation programmes aimed at strengthening civic amenities across the capital. The Delhi chapter formally wraps up on 18 October.

The deployment of modern compaction technology and dedicated waste transport vehicles is expected to reduce open waste accumulation at collection points and cut turnaround time at city landfills, though the scale of impact across all six wards will become clearer over the coming weeks.