Staff crunch chokes MCD

Even though Delhi’s drains are in urgent need of cleaning, there are not enough people to execute the task. Plagued by shortage of staff, it seems unlikely that the MCD will be able to meet the deadline of cleaning storm water drains.

Even though Delhi’s drains are in urgent need of cleaning, there are not enough people to execute the task. Plagued by shortage of staff, it seems unlikely that the MCD will be able to meet the deadline of cleaning storm water drains.

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Oblivious to the urgency of the situation, the civic agency is getting the work done departmentally — using its own labour — rather than engaging a private contractor to do so.

There are 12 zones in the MCD, which have many areas under them. Since work has not been distributed properly amongst nallah beldaars (workers who clean drains, remove silt), desilting work has been moving at a snail’s pace, in many areas. For instance, there are 159 drains in the south zone. However, only 49 nallah beldaars have been assigned for this task. “My ward, Bhati, in south zone has only four nallah beldars. It is far from enough to carry out cleaning of drains,” said BJP councillor Kartar Singh Tanwar.