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Ludhiana: Eyebrows raised over civic body’s sanitation spending
Multi-crore sweeping tenders, machine purchase and manpower hiring raise concerns over use of public funds
Questions are being raised over possible financial mismanagement in the municipal corporation’s sanitation planning, as the civic body is simultaneously pushing ahead with multi-crore mechanised sweeping tenders while also proposing to purchase new cleaning machines and recruit additional sanitation workers. Officials within the corporation say the parallel proposals could lead to duplication of expenditure involving tens of crores of public funds.
According to civic body officials familiar with the matter, the MC is planning to float mechanised road sweeping tenders for different stretches of city roads.
One proposal involves sweeping around 126 km of roads
with an estimated cost of nearly ₹18 crore, while another proposal covering about 650 km of roads is expected to cost more than ₹50 crore.
At the same time, an agenda placed before the Finance and Contract Committee proposes the purchase of six litter-picking and vacuum suction machines. These machines are intended to pick up waste such as plastic bags, paper, and other litter from roads and footpaths, particularly in areas where conventional sweeping machines cannot operate effectively. Officials said the machines will be deployed in narrow lanes, footpaths, road edges, corners, and areas around parked vehicles.
Documents accessed from the civic body indicate that the proposals were prepared following a review meeting by the local government department, which instructed officials to improve the city’s cleanliness standards and its ranking in national sanitation surveys. Currently, mechanised sweeping is being carried out on some stretches through private contractors, and around nine machines are already in operation. However, the simultaneous move to purchase additional machines and outsource sweeping work has triggered debate within the civic administration. Observers argue that if sweeping work is being outsourced through multi-crore tenders, the need for purchasing extra machines should be clearly justified to avoid duplication of expenditure.
Adding to the complexity, Finance and Contract Committee meetings continue to include proposals for hiring safai karamcharis to strengthen manual cleaning operations across the city. “With tenders worth crores being floated for mechanised sweeping and new machines being proposed for purchase, the civic body must clarify its overall sanitation plan. At the same time, proposals for hiring safai karamcharis continue to come before the committee,” said a senior MC official.
The situation is further complicated by different drafts of the sweeping project circulating within the administration. The proposals cover road networks of about 216 km and 650 km, each carrying varying cost estimates. The projected rate for mechanised sweeping, which earlier stood at around ₹750 per km, is now quoted between ₹1,550 and nearly ₹3,000 per km in internal estimates.
Officials familiar with the project said the absence of a unified cost structure raises concerns over transparency and financial prudence, warning that unclear budgeting could lead to allegations of overvaluation and mismanagement. “If the corporation is planning to outsource sweeping work worth over ₹50 crore, the purpose of purchasing additional machines must be clearly explained,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
MC commissioner Neeru Katyal said, “Purchasing of machines and road sweeping are two different things. I have already formed a committee for hiring Safai karamchari as unnecessary hiring will not be done and the process of tenders for road sweeping are underway.”
