The Corporation has planned to recruit 715 contract sanitary workers
through private agencies for the implementation of the Solid Waste
Management (SWM) scheme in the city.

Vellore city produces around
200 tonnes of garbage daily, which is cleared and recycled under the
Solid Waste Management Scheme. In order to implement the scheme
effectively, the Corporation had conducted a study and came out with a
report stating that the local body required 1,450 personnel for
door-to-door collection of garbage, clearing, and transporting it to the
dump yard and for recycling.

However, the local body at present
had only 559 permanent workers and 460 women from self-help groups. As
the contract of the SHG members ended on different days this year with
the last one on Oct 2, 2013, the local body had sent a proposal to
recruit sanitary workers on contract basis, to the Commissionerate of
Municipal Administration (CMA) in November 2012. The CMA, in its letter
to Vellore Corporation in January 2012, had given its nod to recruit 715
persons and had hand over the job to a private party.

Following
this, the salary of these contract sanitary workers, as per the order of
the Collector was calculated at `208 per day and the salary per annum
was arrived at `7.17 crore. This comprised daily wages which was
calculated at `44.61 lakh per month, employees provident fund at `5.35
lakh per month, administrative expenses of `66,924 per month, service
charges of `5.51 lakh per month, LIC premium of `71,500 per month, ESI
and other benefits at `2.90 lakh per month. The Corporation had proposed
to meet the expenditure from its general fund, officials said.

As
per the geographical location, requirements and recommendations of the
Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation Act, which is being followed in
Vellore, the  Corporation divided the strength of 715 workers by
allotting them different zones as their work areas — 178 workers for
zone 1- Tharapadavedu, 209 workers for zone 2 – Sathuvachari, 150
workers for zone 3 – Vellore and 178 workers in zone 4- Shenbakam. The
Corporation has called for tenders in this connection.