The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has found something fishy in monthly sanitation reports filed by a private consultant and asked executive engineers to examine them. The private consultant hired by the SDMC for monitoring of sanitation in its areas has painted a rosy picture of the area by giving incorrect report to its senior officers.
The matter came up for discussion at the weekly review meeting of SDMC Commissioner Manish Gupta who has directed the concerned officials to verify the reports and initiate necessary action against the consultant.
“It has been observed that the reports submitted by the consultant seems to be incorrect; especially the report for April 2013. All executive engineers (EE) are directed to examine the reports thoroughly and if, deficiencies are found in the reports, a rejection cum show-cause notice may be issued to the consultant,” read the minutes of the meeting that was held on Thursday.
The superintending engineers have also been directed to check whether sufficient manpower is being deployed by the independent agency for proper monitoring. It is noteworthy that the sanitation report by the agency is sent to the group email id of the Commissioner, Additional Commissioners, Zonal Deputy Commissioners, Chief Engineers and Superintending Engineers.
It assumes significance in wake of the repeated complaints pertaining to sanitation in the city. The matter has also been taken up on numerous occasions by the councillors of SDMC in the general house meetings and the Standing Committee meetings. They have alleged that the private agencies hired for sanitation and further monitoring were not carrying out the work properly and that many areas in the SDMC lacked proper sanitation. The situation aggravates during the monsoon that severely affects the sanitation work particularly in congested areas.
The decision to appoint independent consultant to oversee sanitation work was taken by the erstwhile unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The consultant firm is responsible for monitoring performance of the sanitation workers. The decision was taken keeping in mind the increased complaints against the private companies.
The consultant also ensures that all approved corrective measures by the SDMC are being implemented by the private concessionaires in the field. The civic body has privatised the collection, segregation and transportation of waste from garbage stations (dhalao) to the sanitation landfill sites.
Officials said the concessionaires were also fined on several occasions for not performing as per the agreement. Hence, for effective cleanliness of the city, it had become necessary to appoint a consultant which could supervise the work.