Delhi’s garbage-free drive sees massive public participation

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has reported significant progress under its special cleanliness campaign, “Delhi’s Freedom from Garbage,” held from August 1 to 14, which saw participation from over 260,000 citizens.

According to the civic body, the campaign boosted waste collection efficiency, with the average daily municipal solid waste collected rising from 11,000 tonnes to 12,373 tonnes. Along railway tracks alone, 689 metric tonnes (MT) of waste were removed during the two-week drive.

The MCD organised 917 office cleanliness drives, clearing over 10,000 kg of accumulated waste. Over 1,100 drives took place in public toilets, while 404 night-sweeping operations were conducted in markets. Special attention was given to slum clusters, where 205 garbage-prone spots were cleared and 417 drains desilted. Schools also participated, with 1,343 drives involving staff and students.

Beautification and awareness efforts ran alongside the sanitation drives. Over 35,000 posters and banners were removed from public spaces, 160 walls were adorned with murals, and nearly 30,000 plantation drives took place between August 6 and 8. Additionally, 419 awareness campaigns aimed at reducing single-use plastic saw involvement from more than 12,000 stakeholders, including market associations and resident welfare associations (RWAs).

Students and youth played a vital role, with 126,000 schoolchildren participating in various activities and over 16,000 youths taking part in 138 “plog runs,” which combine jogging with litter collection.

While celebrating these achievements, MCD officials acknowledged ongoing challenges such as poor civic sense, littering, and the persistent use of single-use plastics. The corporation pledged to continue awareness campaigns alongside regular cleanliness drives to maintain the momentum towards a cleaner, greener Delhi.