PMC Announces Recruitment of 4,814 Contract Workers to Improve City Cleanliness

Pune: In a major initiative to enhance urban sanitation, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has approved the recruitment of 4,814 contract sanitation workers on a pilot basis. The three-month project aims to address growing cleanliness challenges caused by the city’s expanding limits and increasing road network.

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Under the “Swachh Pune, Sundar Pune” initiative, PMC plans to improve the cleanliness of roads and public spaces across the city. The civic body will spend approximately ₹13 crore per month on the project, which will be implemented across 15 regional offices. The proposal has received approval from the Standing Committee.

Contractors to Be Held Directly Accountable

For the first time, contractors will be responsible not only for supplying manpower but also for ensuring that roads and surrounding areas are cleaned properly. If roads remain unclean, the concerned contractor will face financial penalties and may even be blacklisted for repeated violations.

Standing Committee Chairman Shrinath Bhimale said the new system is designed to improve accountability and ensure better maintenance of public spaces.

Expansion of City Has Increased Sanitation Challenges

PMC currently deploys nearly 10,000 sanitation workers along with mechanised cleaning equipment. However, following the inclusion of newly merged villages and the expansion of municipal limits, the city’s sweeping jurisdiction has increased significantly, creating a shortage of manpower.

A review conducted by the civic administration found that the existing workforce is insufficient to maintain cleanliness across the expanded road network.

New Performance-Based Cleaning Model

Previously, contractors were responsible only for providing sanitation workers, while PMC’s health inspectors supervised their work. Civic officials admitted that issues such as inadequate manpower deployment and payment for incomplete work had been reported under the old system.

Under the new model, each sanitation worker will be assigned a minimum responsibility of cleaning 700 metres of road. Any complaints regarding unclean roads will be the direct responsibility of the contractor.

Deputy Commissioner of the Solid Waste Management Department Santosh Warule said Pune currently has 9,298 road-sweeping zones, and the pilot project aims to improve monitoring and service delivery.

Congress Opposes the Proposal

The proposal has faced opposition from the Congress party.

Congress Group Leader Chandu Kadam argued that assigning complete responsibility to contractors would reduce the accountability of PMC’s health and divisional inspectors. He said the proposal should be discussed in the General Body before full implementation.

Congress Standing Committee member Prashant Jagtap stated that Municipal Commissioner had clarified the project would remain only a three-month pilot initiative, and the party had opposed the proposal during the committee meeting.

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