N Corpn takes over work from pvt players

Acting tough against private companies that were entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the city’s roads clean, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has started taking over the sanitation process from them.

The sanitation work that includes street sweeping, cleanliness of toilet complexes and urinals has been outsourced to private contractors in five zones under the North Corporation.

Earlier, the total length of roads to be cleaned by private contractors under the North Corporation was 180 km. Of this, the corporation has taken the responsibility of cleaning 80 km of roads, and given the task of cleaning the rest 100 km to private parties, NDMC Public Relations Officer Yogendra Singh Mann said.

The private companies have also been fined lakhs of rupees in the past. “These contractors have been penalised but they still didn’t take the sanitation work seriously. The public is the sufferer,” Mann said.

“So the corporation has decided to take over the cleanliness work from private companies.”

Inspections ordered

North Corporation Commissioner Praveen Kumar Gupta has ordered deputy commissioners of every zone to carry out inspections of their respective areas. They have been asked to send a report to the Additional Commissioner of the Department of Environment Management Services Deepak Hastir, who is heading the project. 

“The deputy commissioners have been asked to check whether there are enough trucks or loaders to transport garbage and other shortcomings that hinder the cleanliness drive,” Mann said.

The corporation said there is a shortage of staff, which is why the work has been outsourced. “The other party (private players) failed to perform and the civic agency will not tolerate complacency,” Mann said. “If the private parties still do not perform, we will take over the work bit by bit.”

The North Corporation has six zones, of which the sanitation process in Narela Zone has always been under the civic body. In other zones like Rohini, services from door to door garbage collection to disposal of industrial waste are with private companies.

The North Corporation has over 26,000 employess engaged in the sanitation process.