A section of councillors of Tiruchirappali City Corporation complained about the efficacy of the garbage collection being carried out by a private firm in parts of the city. The issue dominated the proceedings of the council meeting held here on Tuesday.
Raising the issue, S. Kavitha, a DMK member representing ward 41, said the efficiency of garbage collection was poor ever since the solid waste management was privatised in 10 wards. There was no proper mechanism to monitor the workers being employed by the firm on a day-to-day basis. There was no transparent system in monitoring the garbage collection.
The agency had been employing just five to eight persons a day as against the requirement of 40 in the 41{+s}{+t}ward. Neither the workforce nor the materials given to them was adequate to collect and dispose garbage affecting the work to a great extent, she said.
Several other councillors including ruling AIADMK members made similar complaints. They said there must be a transparent system to monitor their work on day-to-day basis. The private firm was not following the conditions mentioned in the agreement. If no remedial measure was taken, the situation would turn worse.
R. Chandran, City Engineer, intervened to say that the solid waste management was outsourced mainly due to shortage of workers. As against the requirement of 3,200 workers, the corporation had 1,629 workers. It was not possible to employ temporary employees for more than 90 days. Moreover, garbage collection was outsourced after a series of discussion in the council meetings.
Mayor A. Jaya said the complaints of councillors on garbage collection would be taken up seriously. A meeting would be conducted with councillors and representatives of the private firm to sort out the issue. The efficiency of garbage collection should be enhanced.
While pointing out that she herself had tested positive for dengue, T. Durga Devi, representing 47{+t}{+h}ward, said mosquito control measures were highly inadequate. Four more persons were tested positive for dengue in her ward. Fogging operation should be done in all areas of the corporation.
Commissioner M. Vijayalakshmi said a tender had been floated to acquire 40 more fogging machines. Each ward would be allotted a machine to cover all areas whenever needed.
