hamiltonsherry01

[hamiltonsherry01]

For keeping its own building clean, MC hires firm

While employees of the Municipal Corporation are entrusted upon the task to clean the entire city, it has itself chosen not to take their services for cleaning its own new building. Instead, it has hired a company on contract for the purpose.

The MC is doling out an amount of Rs 1.2 lakh per month for the maintenance of the triple-storey compound. Officials confide that since it is a new building and is designed in such a way that it requires continuous and rigorous cleaning, they cannot rely on their own men.

They even revealed that the safai employees were the ones who would go on strike more often and under such circumstances, the working conditions could deteriorate completely.

The building has huge rooms for the officials with tall windows on two walls. There are meeting rooms and long corridors, which, too, require a good maintenance. The building has heavy footfall owing to which the floors need to be cleaned at least thrice a day.

An official claimed, “These men are at your call throughout the day. We cannot expect all this from our own employees who would turn up as and when they would feel like.”

MC Commissioner Viney Bublani, when asked about the same, replied, “Since most offices are adopting the same policy, we too thought of trying it out. We have found that they have certain gadgets for cleaning up the compound, including vacuum cleaners, good detergents and stain removers, which we would otherwise need to buy.”

Jawahar Lal, a representative of the MC Employees Union, too raised a question on the contractual arrangement. He said there were over 2,500 sweepers employed on permanent basis with the MC. “I wonder why a few of them are not given this job. The contractual arrangement actually proves quite costly,” he remarked.