Confusion reigns as both MCG, developer hire sanitation staff for DLF areas

The residents of DLF 1, 2 and 3 have been wondering these days about who is really responsible for sanitation in their areas. The municipal corporation of Gurugram

The residents of DLF 1, 2 and 3 have been wondering these days about who is really responsible for sanitation in their areas. The municipal corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and the area developer may not have an answer yet.

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On Monday, around 60 workers from a private firm hired by the MCG came for work at DLF Phase 1 but were allegedly turned away by the security guards in the area.

According to DLF, they have outsourced the sanitation related works to a firm which has engaged over 200 workers for the three colonies.

The three colonies have been in the process of being taken over by the MCG for maintenance since February 2016 On May 5 this year the MCG had awarded a contract to a private firm for undertaking sanitation work in the three colonies. However, as per DLF officials, they received no communication from the MCG on this matter and it was allegedly only when the workers were asked to go back on Monday that the MCG alerted the DLF regarding the matter.

DLF officials said they are checking with the MCG on whether the private firm has been hired on a long-term basis for sanitation works or only temporarily to keep the areas clean in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

“We received a letter from the MCG on May 11 from which we understood they too are engaging sanitation workers in DLF Phases 1, 2 and 3 to sanitise the area in a special drive to curb the spread of Covid-19. We had not not received any communication from the authorities related to taking over the three colonies before Monday, and are continuing our maintenance services as before,” said Shekhar Basu, director, DLF Estate.

As per the MCG’s contract with the private firm, a copy of which is with the Hindustan Times, there is no mention of the time period for which the contract has been awarded. The contract mentions that a total of 268 workers are required to maintain sanitation operations and a monthly expenditure of around Rs 50 lakh is estimated for it.

“The firm has been awarded the contract for a one-year period, after which, depending on their work, their performance will be reviewed and a decision on renewing the contract for another year will be taken,” said Bijendra Sharma, senior sanitary inspector.

MCG officials, meanwhile, said that they decided to take over sanitation in the three colonies as they wanted to ensure the streets are clean, sanitised, and disinfected properly to prevent a Sars-Cov-2 outbreak here.

After Monday’s communication, officials said the workers hired by the MCG returned to the localities and continued with their sanitisation works.

RS Rathee, councillor of ward 34, said that the private firm hired by the MCG has initiated work in the three colonies as of Tuesday and the local resident welfare associations (RWA) of each colony are coordinating with them to get the work carried out.

“The workers in the private firm hired by the MCG were unfamiliar with the surroundings. Hence I and the RWAs coordinated with them and explained to them the layout of each of the colonies. To control the Covid-19 pandemic, we want to ensure that all sanitation aspects are covered,” said Rathee.

“There was confusion among residents regarding this development. Initially, the firm hired by the MCG had no clue about the areas. We subsequently briefed them and have been guiding them across the three colonies to ensure they are properly sanitised,” said Dhruv Bansal, official spokesperson of DLF Qutub Enclave RWA.

As of now, both DLF and MCG are undertaking sanitation works in the three colonies, each with limited staff.

In February 2016, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had announced that the three colonies, along with Sushant Lok 1 and Palam Vihar, would be taken over by the MCG.

Subsequently, the developers of Sushant Lok 1 and Palam Vihar decided to pay the money required to fix civic deficiencies in their respective colonies while DLF decided to fix the deficiencies in their three colonies themselves before handing over.

MCG took over Sushant Lok 1 and Palam Vihar in March last year.

MCG’s deficiency assessment report in 2017 stated that ₹14.12 crore was required to fix civic deficiencies in DLF Phase 1, ₹9.43 crore for DLF Phase 2 and ₹11.89 crore for DLF Phase 3.