The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Wednesday introduced 22 vehicles which would be engaged by the conservancy department for prompt collection and disposal of waste across Siliguri and meet the target to develop it a “waste-free city”.

Gautam Deb, the chairman of the board of administrators (BoA) of the SMC, flagged off the new vehicles — eight covered vans and 14 erickshaw vans — as part of the plan to streamline conservancy services provided by the civic body across the town.

Sources said around Rs 1 crore was spent on these vehicles.

“We are streamlining the waste management system of the civic area in an organised manner. Our target is to provide the residents a ‘waste free city’ in another six months’ time,” said Deb.

During the past few years, When the Left was in power at the SMC, residents from different walks of life have time and again pointed to the abysmal conservancy services by the civic body.

“Heaps of garbage, especially in the commercial areas, would lie for days and there was hardly any regular initiative by the then Left board to keep the town clean. We want Siliguri to be clean and are putting all efforts to intensify the conservancy service,” said Ranjan Sarkar, a member of the BoA.

Every day, around four metric tons of waste is collected from 47 wards in Siliguri. of the city and are sent to the dumping ground located off Eastern Bypass, in the northeast end of Siliguri.

“The new vehicles will collect and dispose which will be used in collection and disposal of garbage from all five borough offices of the SMC,” said a source.

The civic body in association with the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority has taken up a project of around Rs 18 crore for proper disposal of waste. “The project is in progress and we hope the services will ould considerably improve during the next few months,” said Deb.