Mohali MC procures two for mechanical sweeping machines from Italy

In January, the Mohali municipal corporation’s finance and contract committee (F&CC) had given nod to a ₹40-crore tender for self-propelled mechanical sweeping machines for cleaning A and B roads (main roads) for five years

Stalled since June 2021, mechanical sweeping of roads in Mohali is now likely to resume this week as two machines finally arrived in Mohali from Italy on Tuesday.

The previous contract for mechanical sweeping had expired on June 14, 2021. (HT Photo)

Recently multiple councillors had staged a protest outside the Mohali mayor’s office for poor sanitation in the city. Moreover, the Opposition had been criticising the state government and the Mohali MC for delay in starting mechanical sweeping here.

In January, the Mohali municipal corporation’s finance and contract committee (F&CC) had given nod to a ₹40-crore tender for self-propelled mechanical sweeping machines for cleaning A and B roads (main roads) for five years.

The previous contract for mechanical sweeping had expired on June 14, 2021. Ever since, roads are being cleaned manually, amid severe shortage of staff.

To resume the sweeping, the chief engineer of the department of local government, Punjab, in last December had approved the lowest bid by Global Waste Management Cell Private Limited, who quoted ₹41.54 crore against the government tender of ₹40.81 crore.

The MC got third time lucky after two failed tenders. The said company will supply four Italy manufactured machines, out of which two reached here in the first lot.

The delivery of these machines got delayed due to the increased sailing time because of critical conditions and tensions between countries due to war situations, said officials.

A MC official said now since these two machines had been delivered, the work to deliver the second lot would be expedited.

Confirming the same, Mohali mayor Amarjit Singh Sidhu said, “As we have received the machines, mechanical sweeping is likely to resume this week. These machines will ensure high standard cleanliness in the city.”

Having dropped to the 113th rank last year in Swachh Survekshan rankings, Mohali made a strong comeback this year by climbing 31 spots to secure the 82nd position among 446 cities with a population over 1 lakh.

Moreover, Mohali emerged as the cleanest city in Punjab among 16 cities with over 1 lakh population.

Mohali MC buys two machines for markets

To ensure better quality sweeping, Mohali MC has also purchased two litter picker machines for cleaning city markets. These electric machines will work as huge vacuum cleaners and can operate for around eight hours once charged.

Each machine has a capacity of 240 litres and costs around ₹18 lakh each.

“These machines will decrease our dependence on manpower, there is immense shortage of sanitation workers,” an MC officer said.