TIRUCHY: Even as efforts are on by the city corporation to improve the efficiency of solid waste management, the civic body is mulling over its privatisation. Mayor Mu Anbalagan said it is currently in the proposal stage. Sources said that there are several factors that pushed the corporation to consider privatising solid waste management.
For instance, councillors during several council meetings claimed there to not be adequate sanitation workers to maintain hygiene in their localities. This, despite officials pointing out the civic body as having a workforce of 2,500 sanitation workers, with about 40 sanitation workers for each ward. A few councillors, however, mentioned the ground reality to be different.
"There are about 4,000 families in my ward and it is also an area close to Gandhi Market. Therefore, we need a minimum of 40 sanitation workers. But we have only 22 sanitation workers so far. The existing workforce has to hence take extra effort to ensure cleanliness," said Ward 17 Councillor N Prabhakaran. Others, too, claimed to be facing a similar situation in their wards.
Officials admitted that a few wards were not having the required number of sanitation workers and how some were not even being regular for work. "We are now conducting inspections to ensure the sanitation workers’ attendance. Even the corporation commissioner himself held several inspections. Many workers have thus started reporting for work on time.
We would soon allot the workers to wards that are not having the required workforce," an official said. Though efforts are on to improve the efficiency of the solid management system, the corporation is also considering a Plan-B to hand over the responsibility to private players. "We are considering the issue of the shortage of sanitation workers in some wards and if needed we would take in more of them. We are also planning to privatise the solid waste management.
At present, it is in proposal stage and our officials are working on it," Mayor Anbalagan said. Officials claimed that the move would not cause any inconvenience to residents. "Even if private firms are collecting and recycling the waste from residents, the corporation would monitor their performance. If we find that they are not working, we would cancel their contract," a source said.