BHOPAL: Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is mulling over stopping payment to NGOs for their ‘zero’ contribution to sanitation drive in the city. A probe committee’s negative reviews about the NGOs’ performance in its probe report might prompt the civic body to take the decision. Five non-profit organizations are working in different zones of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation.
An assessment committee comprising the members of Mayor-in-council (MIC) has reviewed the performance of the NGOs on 23 parameters. The committee report says that the NGOs failed on all points but one.
The NGO workers were found to be complying with single point only and that was - accompanying the BMC sanitation staff in their vehicles. The negligence and laxity on the part of the NGOs has affected the sanitation drive and this may go against the city in cleanliness survey.
The municipal body had earlier released around 10 per cent of the total budget of Rs 7.5 crore earmarked for the NGOs. However, now seeing their lax working style, the MiC members would take up the matter in the council meet and ask for withholding the payment. One of the members even wants that NGOs should be asked to return the amount they have already received as they terribly failed in performing their responsibility. The MiC members including, Manoj Choubey, Dinesh Yadav, Kewal Mishra, Shankar Makoriya and Mahesh Makwana, were assigned the task of assessing the work of NGOs in Bhopal. The members said they would now object to the release of the payment to the NGOs, as they failed to perform the assigned task. MIC member Makoriya even went on to say that the release of previous installment too should also be withheld and we should seek the amount back from the NGOs, for their performance.
An NGO director on the other hand blamed BMC for not providing them required machinery and finance. Wishing anonymity, the NGO director, rued that they have not been paid even ten per cent of their due and were finding difficult to continue working with the civic body. The NGOs have not been provided vehicles and staff and this has affected their working, he added.
MIC member Manoj Choubey said there were 23 points under which the NGOs were asked to work but these NGOs members simply accompanied the sanitation staff in the vehicles, while all other tasks assigned to them were never taken up. The corporators were also asked to assess the sanitation related work of the NGOs in their respective areas of working, he added. Now we come up with a report and on the basis of the findings we would oppose the release of payment to the NGOs in the next meeting of MIC, said Choubey.
The five NGOs working for the BMC are - Basix Municipal Waste Ventures Private Limited, Human Matrix, Swayam Siddha Samiti, Jwala gramin Swarojgar Evam Vikas Samiti and Sanidhya Samiti. These NGOs are working in different zones of the BMC.
