The Greater Chennai Corporation is facing a shortage of workers for carrying out its day-to-day conservancy operations owing to a steady rise in vacancies.
With the complaints on conservancy operations pouring in, the Corporation is looking at outsourcing the work in more zones. “As more conservancy workers are expected to retire in a few months, the Corporation is planning to outsource the operations in two more zones of Thiru. Vi. Ka. Nagar and Royapuram in six months. We plan to shift the permanent workers from here to zones such as Anna Nagar,” said Corporation Chief Engineer N. Mahesan.
Conservancy operations in 11 zones out of 15 in the city have been outsourced. More than 18,000 workers are deployed in the four zones in addition to the permanent workers of the GCC.
Anna Nagar Ward 104 councillor P.V. Shemmozhi said his ward had been coping with shortage of more than 30 workers for solid waste management. “Residents have started complaining. Removing garbage is a challenge. We need more workers. Of the 255 streets in the ward, garbage clearance is proper in 150 streets. Residents on more than 100 streets have complained that the garbage is cleared once in three days,” he said.
“We have 60 WhatsApp groups of residents’ associations in the ward. The residents complain on these groups about waste not being cleared for three days. I need 30 additional workers. Several workers are retiring this month. Some are retiring next month,” he said.
Karthikeyan of Iswarya Apartments in Anna Nagar West said workers collected waste in piles, leaving them on the road. “There is a delay in removing the piles of waste on the road. Cattle are attracted to the piles of waste,” he said.
P. Srinivasulu, general secretary of Red Flag Union, said the number of vacancies was estimated at 4,600 in 2021 and this had increased in the past two years. “More than 500 workers are likely to retire this year. The GCC officials have not released the data about vacancies. We need a recruitment drive of conservancy workers,” he said.
Mr. Mahesan said the GCC planned to improve mechanisation of the operations. “Already, we have replaced all worn out bins in Anna Nagar. Important roads have been declared litter-free corridors. Hotspots have been identified. All 10-year-old compactors and mechanical sweepers will be replaced in two months. We are improving the system,” he added.
