PMC cracks down on negligent street-sweeping contractors

The action, initiated by the civic body’s Solid Waste Management Department, is among the first major moves to hold private contractors directly accountable for poor performance

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has stepped up action against private street-sweeping contractors, issuing show-cause notices to four firms and imposing penalties for lapses in maintaining cleanliness across the city.

The PMC has also strengthened monitoring to check contractors’ work daily and ensure compliance with prescribed cleanliness standards. (HT)

The action, initiated by the civic body’s Solid Waste Management Department, is among the first major moves to hold private contractors directly accountable for poor performance. The PMC has also strengthened monitoring to check contractors’ work daily and ensure compliance with prescribed cleanliness standards.

The PMC issued show-cause notices between September 1 and 4 to contractors handling work in major ward clusters, including Sinhagad Road, Hadapsar, Yerawada and Dhayari. The contractor responsible for mechanical sweeping has also come under scrutiny.

The PMC has outsourced street-sweeping and sanitation work across its 15 ward offices to private agencies. Ambegaon Budruk-based Priyanka Enterprises handles sweeping in the Yerawada and Wadgaon-Dhayari ward offices.

Chinchwad-based Sumit Facilities Limited has been assigned work in the Nagar Road, Hadapsar, Dhankawadi and Ghole Road ward offices, while Sinhagad Road-based Siddhivinayak Enterprises handles sweeping in the Aundh, Warje and Sinhagad Road ward offices. Mumbai-based Global Waste Management Sale Private Limited has been appointed for mechanical road sweeping.

The civic administration has also revised its accountability mechanism. Earlier, contractors were primarily responsible for supplying manpower, while sanitary inspectors and deputy sanitary inspectors supervised the quality of work. Under the revised system, contractors are directly accountable for sweeping quality and can face financial penalties for lapses.

“Earlier, contractors were responsible only for supplying manpower, while supervision was carried out by sanitary inspectors and deputy sanitary inspectors. As the performance remained unsatisfactory, we revised the system and made contractors directly accountable, with penalty clauses,” said Santosh Warule, deputy commissioner, Solid Waste Management Department, PMC.

August was treated as a buffer period to allow contractors to streamline their manpower and operations, he said.

“From September 1, strict performance monitoring has started. We have begun imposing a penalty of ₹5,000 for every violation to ensure compliance across all wards,” Warule said.

The PMC will continue daily monitoring, and further lapses in street-sweeping quality will attract financial penalties, he said.