PMC-SWaCH Zero Waste Pilot begins in Pune’s Peth Areas
Kasba Peth, 6th February 2026: The “Swachhta Peth – Zero Waste Kasba Bhavani”, joint project of Pune Municipal Corporation and SWaCH Cooperative Society was inaugurated on Friday with the aim of making a cleaner and more beautiful Kasba and Bhavani Peth. Through this initiative, a commitment has been made to provide 100% SWaCH’s door-to-door waste collection services in the entire Kasba-Bhavani Peth.
This service will be made available seven days of the week to slum residents, chawls, and small houses in this historically and culturally significant area of Pune. Under this project, to ensure that low income residents are not burdened by service charges, the PMC has announced an incentive allowance of ₹50 for waste pickers working in these locations. Shops and street vendors in the Laxmi Road area will be registered and waste pickers will provide them with services in the evening based on user fees. Additionally, SWaCH has appointed special waste pickers to collect waste on Sundays as well.
For this program, MLA of Kasba Assembly Constituency Hemant Rasne, Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, Additional Commissioner Pavaneet Kaur, Deputy Commissioner of Solid Waste Management Department Avinash Sakpal, along with 11 newly elected corporators from the Kasba-Bhavani Peth area: Kunal Tilak, Swarda Bapat, Pallavi Jawale, Kalpana Bahirat, Sneha Malavade, Aishwarya Thorat, Ajay Khedekar, Vishal Dhanvade, Devendra Vadke, Raghavendra Mankar, Mahesh Awale, and PMC officers: Nikhil More (Assistant Commissioner, Division 5), Pradeep Avhad (Assistant Commissioner, Kasba Peth Regional Office), Timayya Jagle (Assistant Commissioner, Bhavani Peth Regional Office), various dignitaries, office bearers, workers, and citizens were present in large numbers. At the end of the program, PPE kits were also distributed to waste pickers in the presence of dignitaries under the “Namaste” scheme launched by the Central Government in 2025 for the survey and registration of waste pickers.
Hemant Rasne, MLA – Kasba Assembly Constituency, said, “Kasba Peth is an area that preserves a great heritage of Maharashtra’s history. So our Kasba should be made swach, sundar, and viksit. Cleanliness will be achieved only when the government and administration come together. We all saw what the administration can actually do during the cycling competition, and we congratulate the Municipal Corporation for that. The city remained beautiful and clean for five days; now our expectation is that it should remain like this throughout the year. Indore is number 1 in cleanliness because they impose fines there. Therefore, my expectation from the Municipal Corporation is that you take punitive action against those who disfigure the city, and we will be on your side.”
Naval Kishore Ram, Commissioner – Pune Municipal Corporation, said, “Pune is ahead in education, IT, and science sectors, but is behind in cleanliness. Like in other sectors, Pune should also be number one in cleanliness in the country. To solve the garbage problem, the administration and the public have a 50-50% responsibility. To reach everyone with SWaCH’s door-to-door waste collection service seven days a week, we will implement the slum subsidy and replacement system more effectively.”
Pavaneet Kaur, Additional Commissioner – Pune Municipal Corporation, said, “This Zero Waste project has been set up to further strengthen SWaCH’s model and to empower waste pickers. The partnership between the administration and waste pickers is the real strength of Pune’s cleanliness.”
Lubna Anantkrishnan, Chief Executive Officer – SWaCH Pune Seva Sahakari Sanstha, said, “For almost 20 years, SWaCH and Pune Municipal Corporation have been running this world-renowned model in partnership. Waste pickers and the Municipal Corporation jointly operate many sustainable solid waste management systems along with door-to-door waste collection service, such as waste segregation, maximum recycling, and composting of wet waste generated. But the city has also changed significantly in the last 20 years. During this time, solid waste management issues in the city have also changed. That’s why this model needs further improvements and changes. Through the SWaCHata Peth pilot project, we are taking the first step towards these changes.”
Vidya Naiknavare, Waste Picker and Board Member – SWaCH Pune Seva Sahakari Sanstha, said, “This project has been designed to prioritize the convenience of both waste pickers and citizens — night-time waste collection, replacement system, and alternative staff will ensure uninterrupted service. In this pilot, citizens will get a seven-day waste collection service. For every six of us, one extra waste picker will work on the seventh day, and PMC will support their remuneration. This way the service continues without any interruptions.PMC is providing special assistance to solve the difficulties we face in our work. We wish to work with the Municipal Corporation across the entire city, just like this project.”
