How waste management works under new ‘Anupam’ model

Following the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) decision to eliminate the need to transport household waste, six residential colonies have emerged as test cases for decentralising waste management. Named ‘Anupam Colonies’, these neighbourhoods now segregate and process waste within their own premises.

What is an Anupam Colony?

According to Rajeev Kumar Jain, NDMC Advisor (Solid Waste Management), the Anupam Colony project is meant to serve as a model for sustainable urban living. “It is the vision of NDMC chairperson Keshav Chandra to declare every colony as an Anupam Colony by shifting from traditional cleaning to mechanised systems, and processing wet and horticultural waste at decentralised composting units,” Mr. Jain told The Hindu. The Hindi word ‘Anupam’ was chosen by Mr. Chandra to reflect “the colonies are incomparable in their waste practices”.

Under the Anupam model, waste is segregated at source into wet, dry and sanitary waste. Dry waste is further sorted into many categories, including paper, metal, glass, e-waste, and non-recyclables. Wet waste is composted on site, along with horticultural waste, using wire-mesh composting bins placed in parks and green belts, eliminating the need to transport the waste to NDMC plants. E-waste is sent to Central Pollution Control Board-authorised recyclers, Mr. Jain said, adding the compost generated is distributed free of cost to residents, with surplus used by NDMC’s horticulture department.

On-site processing

Sanitary inspectors overseeing these colonies said segregation levels earlier hovered between 60% and 70%. “Now it is 100%,” said Sandeep Locha, a sanitary inspector at Bapu Dham colony, crediting the measures such as door-to-door awareness drives, regular meetings with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), and penalties for mixed waste.

Each Anupam Colony has dedicated sanitation inspectors and additional NDMC staff for composting work and operating mechanical sweeping machines. In four colonies, door-to-door waste collection and segregation is being handled RWAs employed workers for over 10 years. In one colony, an NGO manages segregation and disposal, while in another, residents handle them themselves.

Workers involved in waste collection said that while most households now hand over segregated waste, they still sort it further to separate recyclables.

D-1, D-2, and Satya Sadan Officers’ flats in Chanakyapuri were among the first to be declared Anupam Colony in June 2025. Together, these complexes generate around 300 kg of wet waste daily. Thirteen wire-mesh composters and 10 horticulture pits have been installed, producing around 800 kg of compost.

In officers’ colonies, RWAs and hired workers play a significant role in waste handling – a common practice across Bharti Nagar, Aradhna colony and New Moti Bagh in south Delhi.

Bapu Dham, declared an Anupam Colony in September 2025, which now presents a different picture.

Relying on residents

Home to over 290 flats housing NDMC’s sanitation workers, Bapu Dham relies on residents for segregation. “This was challenging,” said Mr. Locha, who has overseen the area for two years. “We began awareness and segregation drives three months before declaring it as Anupam Colony to see if it was workable.”

Stating that waste segregation was poor and littering was common earlier, Mr. Locha said, “People used to throw garbage from their floors. I imposed over 50 penalties for mixed waste and littering.” 

However, residents now segregate waste into multiple dry categories. Income from selling recyclables – about ₹5,000 a month – is used by the RWA for society repairs. There are two wire-mesh rounders for wet and horticulture waste composting, which fill up in about 15 days and take another 40-45 days to prepare the compost. Meanwhile, tipper vans take the waste to the NDMC plant for composting.

“Tipper vans now visit only occasionally, which was a regular before September 2025. Only when compost pits are full or during large events,” Mr. Locha said.

Latest addition to list

On February 4, Kaka Nagar became the latest Anupam Colony. With around 204 houses, most occupied by senior IAS officers, the colony features fully mechanised, dust-free sweeping machines and eight sanitation workers for cleaning. “We first deploy workers to remove large dry leaves and debris from roads manually. After that, mechanised sweeping machines do the work without dust emission,” he said.

At Kaka Nagar, residents are asked to segregate waste, but collectors carry out further sorting. Hasan Ali, a waste worker employed by an NGO, collects waste from about 60 houses daily. “I have only my cart and no space to segregate recyclables properly,” he said.

Sanitary inspector Naveen Singh said tipper vans still come to the colony daily. NDMC officials say colonies in Sarojini Vihar and West Kidwai Nagar may soon be added to the list. “We implement the model for at least a couple of months before declaring a colony as Anupam,” said Mr. Jain.

Published – February 16, 2026 01:24 am IST