Pune: Administration, Swachh Sanstha Lock Horns Over Delays in Waste Collection; PMC to Add 10 More Garbage Transport Vehicles

Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 12th November 2025: A dispute has erupted between the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) administration and the Swachh Sanstha over delays in the arrival of municipal vehicles assigned to collect waste. To address the issue, Additional Municipal Commissioner Pavneet Kaur has directed that 10 additional BRC vehicles — each capable of carrying 10 to 12 tonnes of waste — be immediately added to the city’s waste transport fleet.

According to PMC data, in the past three months, 32 percent of vehicles arrived late at the 1,076 feeder points across the city, while 6 percent did not show up at all. As a result, garbage has been piling up on roads at over 400 locations, leading to congestion and overload at the city’s waste transfer centres.

The Swachh Sanstha had earlier alleged that women garbage collectors are often left waiting for hours after completing their collection rounds due to the delayed arrival of vehicles.

In response, Kaur chaired a joint coordination meeting with officials from the Solid Waste Management and Motor Vehicle Departments. It was revealed that the city currently operates 82 BRC vehicles for wet and dry waste collection, of which around 10 percent are out of service due to maintenance and repairs — leaving only 74 vehicles functional on any given day.

“To prevent delays in garbage collection and ease the pressure on transfer centres, I have ordered the Motor Vehicles Department to take 10 additional BRC vehicles on lease immediately,” said Kaur. She added that issues faced by garbage collectors working under the Swachh Sanstha will also be addressed.

Each BRC vehicle can transport 8 to 10 tonnes of dry waste and up to 12 tonnes of wet waste. Of the existing fleet, 42 vehicles are owned by the PMC, while 40 belong to private contractors.

Meanwhile, Kaur emphasized the need for greater public participation in waste segregation. “In the Nagar Road area, a pilot project for direct garbage collection from bell carts is showing good results. However, many citizens still fail to separate wet and dry waste. We must intensify awareness efforts to improve this,” she said.