Ludhiana: Opposition councillors protest ‘arbitrary’ transfer of sanitation staff in district

Congress, SAD members say frequent shuffling is disrupting cleanliness; ultimatum issued to the civic body

Opposition councillors from the Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal on Friday objected to what they termed “arbitrary and frequent” transfers of sanitation staff from their wards, alleging that the repeated reshuffling was adversely affecting cleanliness across the city.

Municipal commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal has said he would look into the matter and address their complaints. (HT File)

The councillors reached the municipal corporation’s Zone D office in Sarabha Nagar and later met municipal commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal raising concerns that sanitation workers were being moved every few months, sometimes even before completing two months in a ward. They argued that such frequent transfers disrupted routine sanitation work and made it difficult to maintain accountability.

The councillors said that when workers familiar with a ward’s requirements are shifted abruptly, day-to-day cleaning arrangements collapse, ultimately inconveniencing residents.

They questioned how councillors could be held responsible for cleanliness when staff deployment decisions were being taken without consulting them.

Alleging political interference, opposition members claimed that senior officers were functioning under the influence of ruling party MLAs and that even the limited role councillors earlier had in sanitation deployment was now being curtailed. “Even senior councillors are not being consulted and objections are being ignored,” one councillor said.

Congress councillor Gaurav Bhatti alleged that sanitation staff in several wards of the East constituency were transferred soon after opposition members raised issues related to ruling party MLAs during the last MC House meeting. “Residents question councillors when cleanliness suffers. But if we are not even informed about staff changes, how can we ensure proper sanitation?” Bhatti said.

He added that opposition councillors had given the civic body two to three days to address the issue, warning that a sit-in protest would be staged outside the MC office if no corrective action was taken.

Aaditya Dachalwal, the municipal commissioner, said he would look into the matter and address their complaints.