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Mohali MC stalls door-to-door waste collection project
The project was scheduled to be inaugurated on Wednesday, with local MLA Kulwant Singh invited to formally launch it
The Mohali municipal corporation’s (MC) much-awaited door-to-door segregated garbage collection project has been temporarily deferred following protests by sanitation workers and allegations of poor coordination ahead of its proposed launch. Mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu on Thursday said that the decision was taken after he sought a report from MC commissioner Parminder Pal Singh on the deteriorating cleanliness situation in the city.
The project was scheduled to be inaugurated on Wednesday, with local MLA Kulwant Singh invited to formally launch it. However, the inauguration could not take place after sanitation workers and existing garbage collectors, backed by the MC’s contractual workers’ union, gathered in protest outside the civic body’s office. The protesters opposed the decision to hand over waste collection to a private contractor.
Mayor Sidhu said that although a resolution to outsource door-to-door garbage collection had already been passed in a previous MC meeting, the manner in which the project was being rolled out created confusion and unrest. He alleged that neither the mayor nor local representatives were adequately briefed about the launch, and sanitation workers were not taken into confidence. “The MLA wanted to take credit for the project by inaugurating it, but by sidelining local representatives and sanitation workers, the entire city has been pushed into chaos,” Sidhu said.
He added that the situation worsened as sanitation workers and door-to-door garbage collection staff went on strike over the past three days, leading to garbage piling up across several parts of the city. “Not only was the inauguration stalled, but the city’s cleanliness has taken a serious hit due to the ongoing protests,” the mayor said.
According to the MC, contractual sanitation workers called off their protest on Thursday after the commissioner held a meeting with their union, heard their demands and assured them that their issues would be addressed. The mayor said that until the concerns of sanitation workers are resolved, the tender for door-to-door waste collection will not be implemented.
The protest stemmed from opposition by existing garbage collectors, who currently operate under an informal arrangement across Mohali. At present, the city lacks a formal and organised garbage collection system. In many areas, waste is collected by individuals who are not officially hired by the MC. However, the absence of a structured and accountable waste management mechanism has led to persistent complaints from residents. Irregular and untimely garbage collection, unattended waste lying on roads and overflowing RMC points have become common across residential sectors and market areas.
Union members demanded that this existing system be allowed to continue and opposed the awarding of any private contract, arguing that it would deprive them of their only source of income. The union is also demanding regularisation of staff and scraping of a GPS-enabled online attendance system.
59-yr-old dies on protest site
A 59-year-old sanitation staff employee reportedly died while sitting on a protest outside the Mohali MC office in Sector 68 on Wednesday night around 9 pm, Punjab Safai Mazdoor Federation representative Pawan Godyal said on Thursday. Officials said it has not yet been confirmed whether the victim, identified as Surjit Singh, a resident of Peer Sohana in Kharar, died due to cold or suffered a heart attack while participating in the dharna.
