Pune: In a significant move that has raised questions over the authority of the Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) Standing Committee, the civic administration has curtailed the one-year extension approved for existing road-sweeping contractors to just three months. Overruling the committee's decision, the administration has decided to initiate a fresh tender process for sweeping operations across 15 ward offices, with new contractors expected to take charge from Feb 1, 2027.
The Standing Committee had approved a one-year extension for the existing contractors following a proposal moved by corporators Dada Kande and Sandeep Beldare. However, the administration decided against implementing the resolution in its entirety, opting instead for a three-month extension from Nov 1 to Jan 31.
The decision comes after PMC introduced a revised sweeping policy on an experimental basis from Aug 1 to Oct 31, aimed at improving road cleanliness and accountability among contractors. Under the arrangement, contractors were responsible for sweeping roads, footpaths and public spaces, with provisions for penalties and blacklisting in cases of poor performance.
More than 9,000 contractual workers were deployed under the arrangement. The initiative reportedly resulted in an increase of around 200 metric tonnes in daily garbage collection, while complaints from citizens regarding cleanliness declined.
With the experimental period ending on Oct 31, the Standing Committee proposed extending the arrangement for another year. Committee Chairman Shrinath Bhimale had indicated that the extension would initially be for three months, after which the performance of contractors would be reviewed before taking a further decision. However, the committee's resolution provided for a one-year extension.
After the proposal was forwarded to Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram, the administration decided to grant only a three-month extension instead of implementing the committee's resolution. Additional Municipal Commissioner Pravin Nair also confirmed the decision.
The administration has proposed changes to the sweeping policy, including making biometric attendance compulsory for workers, increasing penalties for contractors and determining the required workforce for ward offices. It has also decided to replace the existing 6% environmental supervision charges with a different payment arrangement.
The civic administration will complete the fresh tender process during the extension period to ensure that new contractors can take over the work from Feb 1, 2027.
PMC's Sweeping Policy: What Changes Now?
- Extension curtailed: Standing Committee's one-year extension reduced to three months.
- Fresh tenders: Bidding process to begin for sweeping operations across 15 ward offices.
- New contractors: Expected to take charge from Feb 1, 2027.
- Over 9,000 workers: Contractual workforce deployed under the experimental policy.
- 200 metric tonnes: Additional daily garbage collection reported during the three-month trial.
- Biometric attendance: Compulsory attendance monitoring proposed for sweeping workers.
- Tougher penalties: Increased penalties proposed for contractors over poor performance.
- Workforce regulation: Number of contractual workers to be determined for ward offices.
