In a move that underscores persistent planning failures, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) has once again resorted to a short-term administrative fix for the city's crucial doorstep waste collection service. On Thursday, the civic body issued six-month work orders worth a total of Rs 9.6 crore to four separate firms, deferring a permanent solution.
A Temporary Fleet for a Permanent Problem
The fresh contracts have raised serious questions about systemic lapses and the corporation's continued dependence on stopgap arrangements for essential civic services. The four agencies—one based in Gurgaon, two in Faridabad, and one in Rewari—are tasked with deploying 400 vehicles across the city's four zones, beginning work from Friday.
The zone-wise deployment of vehicles is as follows:
- Zone 1: 115 vehicles
- Zone 2: 101 vehicles
- Zone 3: 86 vehicles
- Zone 4: 98 vehicles
Officials clarified that residents will not have to pay separate user charges for this service. Instead, the MCG will link these charges with property tax. The contracts explicitly cover the period from January to June 2026, confirming the temporary nature of the arrangement.
Awaiting Approval for a Long-Term Plan
This interim measure comes as the civic body awaits approval from the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department for a long-term, citywide waste management plan. MCG executive engineer Sunder Sheoran stated, "We finalized four agencies for doorstep waste collection and all will start work on Friday. The contracts are for six months, but if we receive ULB approval to appoint agencies for a five-year term, these temporary contracts can be discontinued and replaced."
The backdrop to this cycle of short-term fixes is a history of failed contracts. For the past one-and-a-half years, MCG has relied on temporary contracting after terminating its pact with Ecogreen in June 2024 over poor performance. A subsequent one-year replacement firm also failed to deliver, leading to inconsistent collection and mounting garbage problems, as reported by residents.
A Five-Year Proposal in Limbo
The long-term solution stuck in bureaucratic limbo is substantial. As reported by TOI on January 4, 2026, the MCG sought ULB approval to appoint one agency per zone for door-to-door collection, segregation, and transportation of municipal solid waste (MSW). This was based on a revised model Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the department.
According to an official proposal sent on December 22, 2025, the total estimated cost for this five-year project across all four zones is a staggering Rs 327 crore. The ULB department revised the RFP for doorstep waste collection for the fifth time in December 2025, adding a new clause that if MCG floats tenders zone-wise, no single private firm can be awarded more than one zone.
The journey to this point has been marked by changes. The first RFP for door-to-door waste collection for Haryana's municipal corporations was issued on July 12, 2024. Its conditions were later modified on January 7, 2025, changing the proposed contract period for agencies from five years to seven years.
The latest six-month contracts, while providing immediate relief, highlight a deeper governance issue. They represent another chapter in Gurgaon's struggle to find a stable, efficient, and long-term answer to its growing waste management crisis, leaving citizens in a familiar state of uncertainty about the future of this basic service.
