Panchkula: In a major push to improve road cleanliness, the municipal corporation (MC) is set to hire three additional mechanised road-sweeping machines at an estimated cost of Rs 18 crore, a move expected to significantly reduce dependence on manual sweeping across the city.The machines will be hired through an agency for five years and deployed on A and B category roads, primarily the outer roads of sectors. With the new additions, the corporation’s fleet of mechanised sweepers will increase from two to five.MC commissioner Vinay Kumar said the expanded fleet would help ensure more consistent cleaning of roads and berms while addressing long-standing concerns about inadequate sanitation manpower in several sectors.“We are in the process of engaging an agency for three more sweeping machines. Their deployment will substantially improve cleanliness standards, reduce dependence on manual sweeping and provide better coverage of roads across the city. Their movement will be GPS-tracked and the new machines are more advanced than the existing ones,” Kumar told TOI.Officials said manual sweeping will continue on internal sector roads, known as C roads, and in pockets inaccessible to machines. However, the need for manual deployment on major roads is expected to drop sharply, with sanitation workers being redeployed to areas that currently receive inadequate attention.The move comes after repeated complaints from residents and councillors about insufficient sanitation staff, irregular sweeping and poor cleanliness in several sectors. Civic officials believe mechanisation will help bridge these gaps and improve efficiency.An earlier attempt to hire additional sweepers had failed after the tendering process did not attract a successful bidder. The corporation had then planned to expand its fleet to eight machines and cover all categories of roads through mechanised sweeping, but the proposal did not materialise.The latest plan marks a fresh attempt by the civic body to modernise its sanitation operations and improve cleanliness on key roads across Panchkula.
