Sign in

Khattar conducts surprise visit to Gurugram areas, penalises civic officials

Manohar Lal Khattar Khattar imposed a fine of 10 on supervisor of sanitation workers, 1,000 on field officer, 2,000 on additional sanitary inspector, 3,000 on senior sanitary inspector, and 5,000 along with a month’s salary on joint commissioner of zone-2

Published on: Dec 22, 2023, 13:11:58 IST
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

GURUGRAM: Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar conducted a surprise check in various locations across Gurugram on Thursday and imposed penalties on Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) officials for the poor sanitation in the city, officials aware of the matter said.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar takes stock of the cleanliness system in Gurugram on Thursday (ANI)
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar takes stock of the cleanliness system in Gurugram on Thursday (ANI)

Khattar docked 15 days’ salary of the MCG commissioner and one month’s salary of the joint commissioner after finding garbage piles in various locations in the city.

Officials said the city was struggling with a major garbage crisis as 2,000 sanitation workers have been on strike for months, and the private companies hired to do the job were dumping waste at random locations.

Khattar was in Gurugram for a private event but later conducted a surprise visit to areas such as Kanhai, Sector 18 industrial area, Atul Kataria Chowk, Palam Vihar, Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road, Gurudwara Road, and Civil Lines.

“I found garbage piles in several locations. We have also received complaints from many residents about this issue,” said Khattar.

Khattar also imposed a fine of 10 on the supervisor of sanitation workers, 1,000 on field officer, 2,000 on additional sanitary inspector, 3,000 on senior sanitary inspector, and 5,000 along with a month’s salary on joint commissioner of zone-2.

Khattar also levied a fine of 1 lakh on the agency responsible for maintaining cleanliness on Kanhai Road.

“We have conducted cleanliness drives and cleared major areas, but because of problems with door-to-door waste collection, many residents are throwing waste in the open,” said MCG commissioner PC Meena.

Khattar also announced that he would give 1 crore to MCG from CSR fund for purchasing equipment required for sanitation. He also ordered that salaries of sanitation workers in Palam Vihar are to be released in the next three days.

Meanwhile, residents of several sectors said that new dumping sites have come up in their areas due to poor waste collection. They said that waste is being dumped in vacant land plots in areas such as Ardee City, Sector 45, 46, Sector 57 , 21, and 23.

Joginder Singh, president of the United Gurugram Residents’ Welfare Association, an umbrella body of all the RWAs in the city, said the situation worsening. and the number of vehicles collecting garbage has reduced in the last two months. “We have decided to hire private agencies to collect door-to-door waste in areas with poor collection facilities. We were already paying, but now we will pay to only those who collect timely waste,” he said.

Kusum Sharma, a resident of Suncity Township in Sector 54, said areas close to schools had become dumpyards.

“We have highlighted the waste issue several times and have shared pictures and videos, but MCG officials have never taken it seriously and have always ignored resulting in poor sanitation in the city,” she said.

  • Leena Dhankhar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Leena Dhankhar

    Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest. Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents. Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure. Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing. Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity. Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations. Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling. A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.Read More