Govt to float global tender to clean roads

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 15

The government is planning to rope in international companies that have expertise in mechanical sweeping of roads to clean the dusty streets, a major contributor to air pollution in the national Capital.

In this regard, the city government had floated a tender earlier to which the response was not very encouraging with a handful of Indian companies said to be having the required expertise for the work.

At present, Public Works Department (PWD) operates four vacuum cleaning road machines on rent. Now, it wants to buy these machines for a permanent solution to dusty roads.

"The government has planned to float global tenders to attract both domestic and international companies to mechanically sweep city's roads. As per requirement, around 15 vacuum cleaning roads machines will be bought," said a senior government official.

The proposal to mechanically sweep Delhi's roads was announced in December 2015 as part of decisions taken by the government to combat alarming levels of air pollution in the city.

The official said that global tenders are expected to be floated later this month.

The idea behind roping in international players is that in India, few companies have the required expertise in mechanically sweeping the city's roads that is why earlier tenders floated last year received poor response.

In India, there are a few places where roads are mechanically cleaned.

A comprehensive IIT-Kanpur study on Delhi's air quality had identified road dust as the biggest source of suspended particulate matter in the city's air, pegging it at 38 per cent.

Around 1,280 km of the city's total road length comes under the local Public Works Department as it is responsible only for roads which are more than 60-ft wide. The rest comes under the purview of the civic bodies. 

(With agency inputs)