'700 contract civic workers in twin cities are fake'

National Safai Karmachari Commission member Jagadish Hiremani has noted that around 700 contract civic workers were found to be fake in the twin cities, as the civic body's sanitation contractors misused the bio-metric attendance system and provided less number of cleaning workers.

"Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) commissioner has been asked to conduct a probe into this matter. Within one month, the HDMC should submit the details of PF and ESI amount paid to individual contract civic worker, through the contractors, failing which the commission would initiate action," he said.

Speaking to media persons here on Monday, he observed that the mafia of sanitation contractors is active across the State, and the number of fake contract civic workers was around 7,000 in Bengaluru.

Even some union leaders are collecting money in the name of contract pourakarmikas, instead of working to protect their interests. The contractors have not given details of PF and ESI to many contract civic workers. In the BBMP, an irregularity of Rs 10,000 crore involving contractors and officials has taken place, and we have referred the matter to the ACB, he said.

State Govt blamed

In the process of recruitment of Pourakarmikas, the State Government is not giving priority to appoint contract civic workers who worked for decades together. In addition, the formula of one pourakarmika for 1,000 population would make around 12,000 contract civic workers in the State jobless, Mr Hiremani noted.

National Safai Karmachari Finance & Development Corporation provided Rs 120 crore to the State Government in 2016-17, for the welfare of civic workers, but only Rs 60 lakh was spent, he lamented.

Labour Department officials are also inactive, and they are not ensuring that the Minimum Wages Act is not implemented properly, as they are also greedy of money, he said.

Survey

On pilot basis, Mr Hiremani said, a survey of manual scavengers and their dependents would be conducted in Dharwad, Bengaluru rural, Kolar, Mysuru and Kalaburagi districts, as the Union Government has planned to rehabilitate them.

April 31 is the last date to complete the survey, and due to the elections, the State Government has requested for the extension of the deadline, he said.

The Commission is also working with an engineering college in Kerala, to develop a robot to clean sewage lines, to totally eradicate manual scavenging, he added.

At KIMS

Mr Hiremani visited the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), and interacted with the contract sanitation workers there.

Rs 14,500 monthly minimum wages has to be paid from last year itself, and a notice would be issued to the KIMS administration, if the arrears is not paid within 15 days, he said.

He also expressed ire against the officials concerned, when contract sanitation workers informed that they get only Rs 5,400 monthly pay, and they are deprived of PF and ESI facilities.