Delhi’s winter action plan hit as new road sweeping machines delayed until November-end

Despite winter approaching and air pollution expected to worsen, the Delhi government has missed a crucial July deadline to deploy a new fleet of 140 Mechanical Road Sweepers (MRS) to curb dust. None of the new MRS machines have arrived, leaving the capital without key infrastructure as its annual pollution crisis looms, multiple officials told The Hindu.

In February, the Delhi government informed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) that 140 MRS machines would be deployed by the end of July to curb dust pollution. The fleet was to comprise 70 large machines for wider roads and 70 smaller variants for narrower lanes. The initiative is projected to cost the government approximately ₹900 crore over the next 10 years.

On Monday, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told The Hindu that after tender process, work order has been issued for the 70 large MRS machines and at least some of them are expected to arrive by the end of November. “We will use the existing MRS machines and we are trying to make sure that at least some of the new large MRS machines will also be available during this winter,” Mr. Sirsa said. 

An IIT-Kanpur study in 2016 found that road dust accounts for about 56% of Delhi’s annual PM10 emissions and 38% of its annual PM2.5 emissions.

While the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is executing the project, the Delhi government is funding it. The government is outsourcing the operations to private firms selected through a competitive bidding process rather than purchasing the fleet. The chosen vendors will supply both the machinery and the operational staff.

Meanwhile, the plan for the smaller machines was scaled down from 70 to 30 following a government analysis,officials said. However, the Delhi Cabinet approved the revised plan on September 29, delaying the tendering process and subsequent deployment. 

Faced with these delays, the MCD proposed hiring 30 to 40 MRS machines on a temporary basis for three to four months this winter. The CAQM rejected this interim plan as it included an option to utilise diesel trucks, sources added.

Prolonged delays

The machines are part of a broader, missed-deadline initiative first announced on January 28, 2023 by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government as part of an ambitious plan for the “world-class transformation” of city roads.

Although work was scheduled to begin on the ground by April 1, 2023, the Delhi Cabinet did not pass the ₹2,388 crore proposal until April 4, 2023. The Cabinet split the original plan into two components, outsourcing the work to private firms for a period of seven to 10 years. The first phase focused on deploying 250 water sprinklers integrated with anti-smog guns to control dust. The second phase involved engaging 70 MRS machines integrated with 210 water sprinklers.

Initially, the Delhi government planned to route the funds through its Public Works Department. However, following objections from the MCD, which maintains 1,400 km of city roads, the Cabinet decided to grant the funds directly to the civic body. However, the implementation got stuck again as the MCD lacked a Standing Committee to clear the approval.

In December 2024, the project hit another snag when the MCD wrote to the environment department seeking permission to divert the funds towards solid waste management and road maintenance as part of an “integrated” sanitation plan.

The BJP government, which came to power in February 2025, revived the project and passed a new cabinet decision, subsequent structural revisions have caused further delays.