Chandigarh MC turns to private player to keep 1,800 parks spick and span

Chandigarh municipal corporation has floated tenders to hire a private firm that will be allotted a contract for one year to begin with

Working on beefing up cleanliness at City Beautiful’s 1,800 parks, the Chandigarh municipal corporation has decided to rope in a private firm to achieve the goal.

Currently, the task is handled by sanitation workers from Chandigarh MC’s horticulture wing, albeit ineffectively, leading to slew of complaints from residents. (HT Photo)

Currently, the task is handled by sanitation workers from MC’s horticulture wing, albeit ineffectively, leading to slew of complaints from residents. The job includes clearing waste from bins and moving it to material recovery facilities (MRFs), picking litter and washing the bins clean every week.

Sourcing help from the private player, who will be assigned the job for a year to begin with, will cost the corporation ₹2.5 crore per month.

“The civic body has been maintaining cleanliness at all 1,800 parks and also installed over 3,700 twin-bin dustbins for waste segregation. But we are facing problems in emptying the dustbins and keeping the green belts clean, primarily due to staff shortage. So, we have decided to hire a private firm to take up the job. A tender has been floated to invite bids,” said Anindita Mitra, the municipal corporation commissioner.

She said the work to the private firm will be allotted for one year and will be extended for two more years subject to satisfaction of the competent authority.

Additionally, there are 2,269 twin bins and 1,264 single bins in neighbourhood parks where this needs to be done twice a week, every Monday and Thursday, along with weekly washing of bins.

Asper the contract, the agency will also be responsible for arranging and deploying vehicles, logistics, machinery and water for cleaning of dustbins.