3 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 4, 2026 22:10 IST
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday issued directives calling for an “immediate inspection” of the city’s fleet of solid waste collection and transportation vehicles after a field inspection of its fleet operations in Dharavi shed light on the poor condition of several large compactors and mini-compactors.
In order to prevent safety risks, civic top brass has directed district officials to “immediately reject and remove” all vehicles found to be unsafe during the course of inspection.
According to senior officials of BMC’s solid waste management (SWM) department, during a recent inspection in Dharavi, several big and small compactors collecting waste were found in “extremely bad” condition.
Taking cognizance of the finding, deputy municipal commissioner of SWM department on Tuesday issued a notice calling on all assistant engineers of SWM and transport divisions to initiate joint inspection of all solid waste collection and transportation vehicles in all 24 wards of the city.
“Only those vehicles that are mechanically sound and safe to operate on public roads will be allowed to ply. All damaged, unsafe or unfit vehicles will be immediately rejected and removed from service,” read a notice issued by the DMC office on Tuesday.
“Vehicles in such poor condition are prone to frequent breakdowns and pose serious dangers, including the risk of fatal accidents. To ensure the safety of public and staff as well as to ensure uninterrupted solid waste management operations, a decision has been taken to initiate an immediate inspection,” a senior BMC official said.
After the inspections, district officials were asked to submit a detailed report containing data on the total number of vehicles rejected due to poor mechanical conditions, as well as data on the number of additional vehicles and machinery required from the transport department to ensure smooth operations in the future. Additionally, strict directives have been issued not to accept or deploy damaged or unfit vehicles.
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In its advisory, the BMC has also tasked all assistant engineers (SWM) of all districts to ensure that all collection and transportation activities are executed before 8 am.
Deputy chief engineers of the operations department have been directed to prepare a standardized list with three categories of vehicle inspection, vehicle rejection and additional requirements of vehicles and machinery.
The directives come on the heels of the BMC’s continued efforts to reform Bombaywaste collection and transportation facility through a “service-based” model. At a cost of Rs 4,000 crore, the BMC will deploy new waste collection trucks in 22 districts where it will appoint private contractors to carry out sweeping, cleaning and garbage collection.
According to the tender clause, only new, closed-body and environmentally friendly trucks with registration after January 2025 will be able to circulate in the city to collect and transport waste.
