On 2 October 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched with much fanfare, aiming to transform the country into a "Clean India" by 2019. While the campaign initially promised a revolutionary approach to waste management, ten years later, the state of Delhi NCR exposes the deep contradictions of urban development, ie, the city thrives while its waste is systematically pushed to its peripheries, where it wreaks havoc on marginalised communities.