Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) mechanised road-cleaning operations have come under the spotlight after an RTI query revealed that the civic body spent over Rs3.28 crore on hiring just one road-sweeping machine in less than two-and-a-half years. This translates to a monthly expenditure of about Rs11.28 lakh. As per information obtained by activist Abhay Kolarakar, the Solid Waste Management Department has hired eight mechanised road-sweeping machines for cleaning city roads and reducing dust pollution. One of the machines was hired from a private firm and was in service since Aug 1, 2023. NMC paid Rs3.28 crore towards rental charges till December 2025. Mechanised sweepers were introduced to improve cleanliness standards, remove fine dust particles from roads and help contain air pollution levels. The substantial recurring expenditure on a single machine has raised questions whether purchasing additional machines would have been more cost-effective in the long run. The revelations are expected to trigger a debate on whether NMC’s dependence on rented equipment is financially prudent, especially when the outgo for a single machine exceeds Rs1.35 crore annually.The RTI response further indicates that details regarding ownership, procurement costs and maintenance expenditure of the remaining seven machines were not specified.
