Pune: PMC Cracks Down On Poor Road Sweeping, Introduces Penalties For Contractors

In a major overhaul of the city's road-sweeping system, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to make contractors directly accountable for maintaining cleanliness and has approved the deployment of 4,709 additional contractual sanitation workers under a three-month pilot project. The civic body has also, for the first time, introduced a graded penalty system for contractors failing to meet cleanliness standards, with repeated violations leading to the termination of contracts.

Announcing the decision, Standing Committee Chairman Shrinath Bhimale said the move was prompted by a steady rise in complaints from citizens over poor road sweeping, irregular sanitation services and the lack of effective accountability among contractors.

PMC has 15 regional offices covering nearly 574 sq km, with road sweeping currently outsourced to contractors appointed through the tender process. Although their work is monitored by supervisors, health inspectors and regional officials, civic authorities have continued to receive complaints through written applications, emails, WhatsApp, helplines and phone calls. Concerns over poor sanitation have also been repeatedly highlighted in newspapers, digital media and on social media.

According to the civic administration, rapid urban expansion, an increasing population, newly developed roads and an inadequate workforce have left the existing sanitation system overstretched. To address the shortfall, the PMC has approved the recruitment of 4,709 additional workers, nearly doubling the existing workforce of 4,814 sanitation workers engaged in road sweeping.

The PMC estimates that the city has 6,508 km of roads requiring regular sweeping. Based on a standard beat length of 700 metres, the city has been divided into 9,298 sweeping beats, necessitating a larger workforce to ensure timely cleaning.

Under the new system, contractors will also be required to resolve complaints within fixed timelines. General complaints received through the helpline, mobile app or other channels must be addressed within 12 hours, urgent complaints within six hours, and emergency complaints within two hours.

Unlike previous contracts, which did not include clear provisions for penalising poor performance, the revised framework places direct responsibility for sanitation on contractors instead of civic health officials. PMC will pay contractors an additional ₹13.78 crore per month to cover the cost of the expanded workforce during the pilot phase.

To strengthen monitoring, contractors must appoint one supervisor for every 25 workers, one group leader for every eight supervisors, and one manager for each ward.

Although contractors will not be penalised during the first month of the pilot project, strict action will follow thereafter if sanitation standards are not maintained. A first violation will attract a ₹1,000 fine, followed by ₹2,000 for the second, ₹3,000 for the third, ₹10,000 for the fourth and ₹50,000 for the fifth violation. The contract will be terminated upon the sixth violation.

PMC officials said the pilot project is aimed at making the city's sanitation system more accountable, responsive and effective. The civic body will decide on its long-term implementation after reviewing the project's performance.