Restriction on recruitment of workers could hit solid waste management

TIRUCHI

The recent Government Order, which prohibits recruitment of sanitary workers by the civic bodies, could affect solid waste management in Tiruchi.

As per the G.O. 152 dated October 20, 2022, by the Department of Municipal Administration and Drinking Water Supply, the total strength of permanent employees including officials and engineers of the Tiruchi Corporation will be just 270. Only sanitary inspectors and supervisors will be recruited hereafter and no conservancy workers will be recruited.

Though the existing conservancy workers can continue their work until retirement, it was said no more new recruitment would be conducted to fill up the posts. The G.O. also puts a question mark on appointment of workers on compassionate grounds as well.

Until 2008-09, the Corporation managed the day-to-day work of clearing waste from streets, and public places and transporting the daily collection of garbage from the bins, bus stands and vegetable and fruit markets to the compost yards by permanent conservancy workers. If they were on sick or casual leave, substitute workers, who were recruited through the employment exchange, were engaged to carry out the work. Depending upon their seniority, the Corporation followed a system to regularise their service whenever vacancies arose.

After the introduction of door-to-door collection of waste and the disposal of waste at the micro compost yards in 2016-17, the Corporation began employing workers from Self Help Groups. According to sources, the Corporation has about 1,200 permanent workers and about 1,380 SHG workers, who get a daily wage of about ₹557 per day. No new recruitment has been made since then.

Since the Corporation Council led by Mayor M. Anbazhagan gave its approval for the G.O. 152, sources in the Corporation said that there would be no recruitment for lower level employees and workers. Daily wage workers or Self Help Group members would be engaged through agencies in the posts falling vacant.

This has raised serious questions about the efficiency of solid waste management works in the city. As per the yardstick framed in 1997 on appointing workers, Tiruchi requires at least 6,000 conservancy workers. But, it has just 2,500 workers. Of them, 1,380 workers were from SHGs. “If all conservancy works are outsourced, it will surely raise questions on accountability. Supervisory officials can not have control over temporary workers,” says S. Rangarajan, district secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, Tiruchi.