Dakshin Dilli Swachh Initiatives Limited: A Comprehensive Approach Towards Sustainable Waste Management

Abstract

Delhi is suffering from mismanagement of waste, unauthorized colonization, ever-increasing population load, and changing the lifestyle of inhabitants makes Delhi an amalgam of all the basic nuances waste management is known for. In such a scenario, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) decided to take it upon itself to improve the waste collection and transportation scenario by declaring separate waste streams and asking all these waste typologies to be handled separately. An exhaustive tender document was floated by SDMC in this regard asking interested parties to quote their price per ton for handling waste. IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure and Services Limited (IEISL); being one of the largest and most organized waste management experts in India in terms of mode of operations, quantum of waste handled and manpower handling; bid for the Central Zone of SDMC and won the tender by a comfortable margin. Major challenge was to set up such a well-coordinated system for waste collection and transportation that time delays and manual interventions are minimized and we move towards a more scientific approach towards waste management. IEISL created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) by the name of Dakshin Dilli Swachh Initiatives Limited (DDSIL) to execute this project as per the tender conditions. DDSIL pioneered path-breaking advancements in order to check manual intervention and labour and also succeeded in bringing down the waste evacuation time from habitat. One of the major accomplishments of the project is the installation of fifteen Fixed Compactor Transfer Station (FCTS) in the concession area, each handling more than thirty tons of waste in a day. DDSIL also very successfully tied up with private waste collectors and checked dumping of waste in waste storage depots a.k.a. dhalaos. Another achievement of the project lies in successfully handling separate waste streams, viz. municipal solid waste (wet and dry), green waste, drain silt, street sweeping waste and construction and demolition waste. DDSIL is also collecting segregated waste from commercial establishments in the concession area on user charges notified by SDMC. DDSIL has a robust IT system installed for comprehensive project monitoring. A dedicated Information, Education and Communication (IEC) team is deployed on the project, fulfilling awareness generation needs of this waste management project. DDSIL is working towards a pollution minimization system with e-rickshaws and CNG-based vehicles making 90% of the total project fleet. With a team of over one thousand and two hundred deployed manpower, DDSIL is collecting and transporting more than one thousand one hundred (1,100) tons of waste in dedicated separate vehicles on a daily basis.