361 Gurugram sanitation workers untraceable, councillors demand vigilance probe

While the findings prompted response from local councillors, who called it a “massive irregularity”, the additional municipal commissioner maintained that salaries were issued strictly as per attendance.

As many as 361 sanitation workers listed on the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) payroll are “untraceable” on the ground, according to the cross-verification of their attendance by the urban local body (ULB) on December 5, the MCG said on Thursday.

Residents in Gurugram on Thursday continue to complain of dust accumulation, uncollected waste piles, and deteriorating air quality (HT archive)

According to the corporation, it pays salaries to 4,904 sanitation workers. However, when their ward-wise deployment was examined, the number reflected only 4,543 workers, leaving 361 employees unaccounted for.

While the findings have prompted response from local councillors, who called it a “massive irregularity”, the additional municipal commissioner maintained that salaries were issued strictly as per attendance.

Officials privy to the matter claimed that over 120 of these 361 workers were employed at private houses of district and municipal officers, performing domestic tasks while drawing salaries from the corporation. More than 50 workers are reportedly living outside the district, with no record of their deployment despite appearing on the payroll, they added.

The findings have raised concerns among councillors. Last week, Ward 11 councillor Kuldeep Yadav dismissed the MCG data as misleading and claimed that not even 100 workers are deployed in his ward. He alleged that a detailed inquiry may reveal that the actual number of missing workers could be as high as 700–800.

Meanwhile, residents in Gurugram on Thursday continue to complain of dust accumulation, uncollected waste piles, and deteriorating air quality. RWAs across several sectors allege that the ward-wise sanitation staff list does not match on-ground deployment, with many workers never reporting for duty.

The Sector 57 Resident Welfare Association (RWA) said they had filed a vigilance complaint against the sanitation agency, demanding immediate corrective action.

Earlier, during a House meeting on November 13, councillors and an MLA formally demanded a vigilance probe into the alleged mismanagement. Councillor Aarti Rao even sought the cancellation of contracts awarded to private sanitation agencies, accusing them of manipulating attendance.

Councillors suggested setting up ward committees to verify worker attendance daily, with signatures from elected representatives. However, officials cited potential objections from employee unions and shelved the proposal, offering only to share attendance sheets with councillors.

Yadav also demanded scrutiny of workers hired through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN), alleging that many of them worked merely one or two hours without supervision. Councillor Dharambir had separately sought a vigilance probe earlier, but no action has been taken so far.

Responding to the concerns, Ravindra Yadav, additional municipal commissioner, said: “Out of nearly 5,000 workers, about 350 may be on leave or absent. Salaries are issued strictly as per attendance.”