Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: The city’s average daily garbage generation has risen by over 1,500 metric tonnes (MT) – from nearly 11,300 MT in 2025 to 12,847 MT till March 2026 — a recent report by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) of its 250 wards has stated.The civic body has attributed the increase primarily to more accurate, real-time measurement on its portal of waste being dumped at the landfills and processed at waste-to-energy (WTE) plants. Officials also said intensified cleanliness drives this year, particularly along railway tracks, vulnerable points, vacant plots including those transferred from DDA and unauthorised colonies, have contributed to higher recorded collection levels. MCD said in just one month, it has collected 18,000 MT of waste from railway tracks spanning 103km.Officials said in south, west and central zones, the contracts for door-to-door waste collection have been extended at existing rates after the agreements expired.“We are receiving mixed waste from these zones, including silt, garbage and construction debris, through open trucks, leading to an increase in overall quantity. As the new tendering process is underway and new agencies are expected to take over operations in the next four-five months, we expect the quality of waste management to improve. The new concessionaires will undertake extensive work beyond door-to-door collection,” an official said.In April, waste collection has exceeded 13,500 MT on certain days, said MCD. “It is estimated that 3,000-4,000 MT of waste remains uncollected daily from narrow lanes and congested unauthorised colonies,” the official said.Zone-wise, the highest garbage collection was reported from West (1,308 MT), followed by Shahdara North (1,302 MT) and Shahdara South (1,300 MT). The lowest collection was from Keshavpuram (760 MT) and Narela (800 MT).“It is estimated that per capita waste generation has increased beyond 500 gm per day. A significant amount of packaging material is being collected, contributing to the rise in overall waste,” the official said.A significant gap remains between waste collection and processing capacity. At present, Delhi can process only 7,642 MT of waste, with the remainder ending up at the three landfills — Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur.To address this shortfall, work is underway on several projects, including the expansion of existing WTE plants and installation of new facilities – expected to enhance processing capacity by an additional 7,650 MT by 2028.“We expect waste generation to increase to around 15,292 MT per day by then. Arrangements are being made accordingly,” the official said.Segregation at source, meanwhile, remains uneven. While NDMC areas have achieved about 92% segregation, MCD areas average about 59%, with targets to reach full segregation by Jan 2027.
