Mohali MC set to revert to manual sweeping of roads

For the past six years, a Delhi firm has been undertaking mechanised sweeping in Mohali at a cost of ₹18 crore per year

The Mohali municipal corporation is all set to revert to manual sweeping of roads in the city, for which it will be recruiting 1,334 sanitation workers. The agenda will come up for approval in the General House meeting scheduled on August 3.

The agenda will come up for approval in the Mohali MC General House meeting scheduled on August 3.

For the past six years, Delhi-based firm Lions Private Limited was managing the city’s sanitation through mechanised sweeping at a cost of ₹18 crore per year.

The move comes amid allegations by councillors that despite being paid a hefty amount, the company failed to deliver. In August last year, Mohali had slipped to 157th rank out of 382 cities in the nationwide Swachh Survekshan. In 2019, the district’s rank was 153, while in 2018, it was 109.

Deputy mayor Kuljeet Singh Bedi said: “The firm failed to clean the city. We are recruiting 1,334 sanitation workers. However, the company’s contract will be extended till we complete the recruitment process.”

Senior deputy mayor Amrik Singh Somal said the company was allotted the contract in 2015 when the House was not elected. “The contract ended on June 15 last year, but due to the pandemic, it was extended by one year and again by two months,” he said.