Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Defence Colony Waste Experiment Divides Workers and Residents
Waste workers in a part of Defence Colony usually collect rubbish from homes and earn money from each house.
A residents’ group brought in an NGO to create a more formal system.
The new plan would pay workers a salary instead of allowing them to earn directly from each home.
Workers say the proposed salary may be lower than what they currently make.
They are also expected to collect a fee from many households and give it to the NGO.
Some workers say they were pressured to sign an agreement and have not been paid for August.
The residents’ group says signing was voluntary and that the plan provides minimum wages and extra benefits.
An activist says the workers should also be formally registered under a government welfare scheme.
The NGO did not comment on the allegations.
An NGO-led waste collection pilot began in Defence Colony’s A Block in August.
Workers say the proposed salary system could reduce their earnings and add difficult fee-collection duties.
The memorandum requires workers to work for minimum wages and collect Rs 150 from each household.
The Residents’ Welfare Association says the arrangement offers wages, benefits, protective equipment and improved waste management.
Workers say they have not received their August salaries, while the NGO declined to comment on the dispute.
- Who
- Informal waste workers in Defence Colony, the A Block Residents’ Welfare Association, and Shrishti Environment and Livelihood Foundation.
- What
- A dispute has emerged over an NGO-led waste collection model involving salaries, worker benefits and household user fees.
- When
- The pilot began in August; workers said their August salaries remained unpaid.
- Where
- A Block of Defence Colony in South Delhi.
- Why
- The RWA introduced the model to formalise waste collection, improve segregation and address shortcomings in municipal waste services.
Waste Workers and Supporters
Residents’ Association
Pay and employment model
Waste Workers and Supporters
Workers say switching from house-based earnings to a salary could reduce their income; Jaim Ali said the proposed Rs 18,000 would be below his current earnings.
Residents’ Association
The RWA says the MoU provides minimum wages, employee benefits and additional access to dry waste that workers can sell.
Agreement and payment
Waste Workers and Supporters
Some workers claim they were pressured to sign the MoU and say both signatories and non-signatories were still waiting for August salaries.
Residents’ Association
The RWA denies forcing workers to sign and says workers who do not want to sign can decline; the NGO did not comment on the allegations.
Formal government recognition
Waste Workers and Supporters
An environmental activist says workers should first be identified, enumerated and registered under the NAMASTE scheme for safety, training, health coverage and livelihood support.
Residents’ Association
The RWA says it applied to the scheme but was told registration would be considered when there were 200 to 400 ragpickers, compared with fewer than 20 workers across five blocks.
- Pilot area
- A Block, Defence Colony
- NGO
- Shrishti Environment and Livelihood Foundation, based in Indore
- Proposed pay
- Minimum-wage salary; one worker said SELF was willing to pay Rs 18,000
- Existing earnings
- Jaim Ali said he earns about Rs 25,000 per month, plus tips
- User fee
- Rs 150 from each household, to be collected by workers and handed to SELF
- Workers involved
- Six workers in A Block; fewer than 20 workers across five Defence Colony blocks, according to the RWA
- Government scheme
- The National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem, or NAMASTE