The Urban Development Department of Uttarakhand is preparing to introduce an artificial intelligence-driven monitoring mechanism across all urban local bodies to streamline garbage collection and ensure accountability. This decision comes in response to the underwhelming performance of many municipal bodies in the recent national cleanliness rankings.
As part of the initiative, a real-time tracking portal and a dedicated mobile application will be developed. These platforms will enable residents to view live locations of garbage collection vehicles operating in their area and monitor the deployment of sanitation workers. Citizens will also have the facility to lodge complaints if a vehicle fails to arrive on schedule.
The move aims to rectify inefficiencies in door-to-door waste collection, which has been identified as a major shortcoming in several towns and cities. By enhancing the transparency and responsiveness of municipal services, the government hopes to achieve 100 percent door-to-door collection coverage.
To address the shortage of garbage collection vehicles, the Directorate of Urban Development is in the process of procuring 250 new waste collection vehicles. Tenders for the purchase have already been floated, and the vehicles will be distributed to all urban local bodies, including Dehradun.
Additionally, the government plans to strengthen human resources by activating local sanitation committees. These committees will also be integrated into the AI-enabled monitoring system to ensure better oversight and coordination.
A team from Uttarakhand will soon visit Haryana to study a similar AI-based model that has already been successfully implemented there.
“Review of the recent cleanliness rankings is underway. As a priority, we are focusing on achieving 100 percent door-to-door garbage collection through this new monitoring portal, which will be developed in collaboration with the IT Department,” said Nitesh Kumar Jha, Secretary, Urban Development.
