SDMC approves hiring of increased sanitation workers

New Delhi: Waste segregation, RFID tags and salary hike for sanitation workers were some key issues raised in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation's Standing Committee meeting on Tuesday. Standing Committee Chairperson, Rajdutt Gehlot also said that the civic body had allowed licenced eating houses to use open spaces or terrace spaces for serving food.

Lauding the work done by temporary sanitation workers (safai karamcharis) during the coronavirus pandemic, the standing committee proposed to increase their wages. Following increased footfall after lockdown restrictions were eased, the SDMC also passed a resolution to hire increased sanitation workers to work at toilets, urinals, and CTC blocks (Community Toilet Complex) under its jurisdiction. Rs 30 crores 30 lacs were sanctioned for the same. Moreover, 686 workers will be hired for maintaining 300 public and community toilets under SDMC jurisdiction.

The committee also passed a proposal allowing the general public to get a refund of the booking charges they had paid to community halls for functions that were supposed to be held during the lockdown period. This pertains to bookings made between March 23 and May 31. A total of around Rs 45.87 lakh will be refunded for 256 bookings made during this period. Community halls could not be used for any functions or parties due to restrictions imposed by the government following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The committee also rejected a proposal to install RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) systems at 10 additional entry points in the city and said that it would issue a fresh tender for the project.

BJP Councillor Shikha Roy proposed that a notice penalising Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) up to Rs 10,000 for failing to segregate their waste should be recalled for the time being since the SDMC currently lacks the infrastructure and manpower to segregate end waste.