Sources in the PWD said that for the 16 sub-divisions, only four tenders were found to be fulfilling the terms and conditions set by the Delhi government.
After the air purifier plan, another Delhi government scheme to check air pollution seems to have hit a roadblock. Sources said first the scheme of vacuum cleaning of roads was officially delayed as there were no bidders, and now the contractors are trying to exploit the situation by quoting exorbitant rates.
“Initially, there was a lack of bidders, and now, given the circumstances, the contractors are trying to exploit the government,” said a Public Works Department (PWD) official. There are 16 sub-divisions in the city, and the PWD had rolled out tenders for each of these sub-divisions to procure at least one vacuum machine for each of the zones.
Sources in the PWD said that for the 16 sub-divisions, only four tenders were found to be fulfilling the terms and conditions set by the Delhi government. “Nine of these tenders didn’t receive any biddings, whereas three quoted a relatively higher cost,” said an official. Till date, only two machines have been procured, and another two will begin to operate by December 10, the official added .
Nearly 1,200km of road in the national Capital falls under the jurisdiction of PWD.
Road vacuuming, along with installation of air purifiers and mist fountains, were part of the Delhi government’s pilot project, which was announced after the air quality in the city deteriorated critically. DNA had earlier reported that the air purifier project received a setback when PWD itself termed the project “unreliable”, in its report submitted to the government.
On November 14, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had asked the Delhi government and its agencies to stop manual cleaning of roads and directed it to introduce mechanical cleaning. The green court had said that manual removal of dust from roads further polluted the environment and that the police should ensure that wherever mechanised cleaning was introduced, no vehicles were allowed to park nearby.
The tribunal had noted seven major contributors to air pollution — construction activity and transportation of building material, burning of solid waste, crop agriculture residue, vehicular pollution, dust on the roads, and industrial and power house emissions.
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