Pune Sweeping Tender in the Dock for Budget Excess and Lack of Transparency
Pune’s civic authority’s sweeping contract has sparked outrage due to budget excesses and lack of transparency. Critics question duplicative allocations and manpower plans, fearing mismanagement. Despite a ₹576 crore budget, city cleanliness remains poor. Activists demand an inquiry, suspension of the tender, and full disclosure of all related details.
Mrudula Narale
Pune, April 29, 2025: A gigantic contract for sweeping and cleaning services floated by Pune’s civic authority has raised a storm of criticism about its bloated budget and lack of transparency. Activists have called for an urgent stop to the tender on the grounds of discrepancies in the budgetary plans and lack of clear details on the deployment of manpower, fearing possible mismanagement.
The civic body has allocated a major part of its yearly budget for garbage disposal, with Rs. 202.86 crore being earmarked for street sweeping and another Rs. 373.37 crore channeled through divisional offices for the same purpose. The move to keep two distinct budget lines for what seems to be duplicate work has come under criticism, particularly as divisional offices already conduct sweeping operations. Budget documents lack clarity on the allocation for permanent sanitation staff, fueling suspicions of financial opacity and possible fund misuse.
Critics have highlighted that nearly nine percent of the civic body’s total budget is dedicated to sweeping and cleaning, an allocation deemed excessive and disproportionate. The absence of a detailed manpower plan is a major point of contention, despite the Health Department reportedly employing around 7,000 cleaning workers. As per the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Rules, 2016, one worker in high-density zones is required to clean 40,000 to 45,000 square feet per day, whereas in medium-density zones the area varies between 55,000 to 60,000 square feet and in low-density zones between 70,000 to 75,000 square feet.
The contract spans about 26.62 crore square feet and needs about 5,325 workers to meet MSW standards. Yet, nothing has been said regarding the number of workers to be used or how the contract will guarantee compliance. According to the Minimum Wages Act, each employee has a statutory right of a daily wage of Rs. 898.64, making the daily wage bill Rs. 47.85 lakh and the monthly expense of approximately Rs. 12.44 crore, not counting holidays. Information regarding statutory benefits, like provident fund contributions or other allowances, is not known.
Despite the huge spending, the cleanliness of the city has not improved much, and charges have been made that contractors and some officials gain more than the public. Lack of transparency has prompted calls for all details relating to tenders, including budget and manpower plans, to be put on the civic body’s website. There have also been calls from activists for an independent committee to probe the tender process, with a report made within eight days, and for the tender to be put on hold.
The row has amplified worries of accountability in civic functions, with the public impatient over chronic waste management problems in the face of large budgetary outlays. The result of the intended investigation could inform the process of tenders in the future and public confidence in the civic organization to effectively run critical services.
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