PUNE: The subject of outsourcing conservancy services came up for discussion at the general body meeting of the Pune Municipal Corporation on Tuesday but, despite heated debate, no conclusion was reached.

The issue was raised by corporators while discussing outsourcing for
Kamala Nehru hospital. BJP corporators Vikas Mathkari, Ganesh Bidkar and
others demanded that the GB immediately approve the civic
administration’s proposal to outsource conservancy services for the
civic body’s hospital. Mathkari said that cleanliness was a major issue
at the hospital and the existing PMC staff was not sufficient or
efficient enough to take care of the hospital.

Bidkar said the PMC had no option but to outsource services as the state government had halted the recruitment process. Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP) corporator and leader of the house Subhash Jagtap supported the
idea. “It is not a question of only one hospital. Cleanliness is a major
issue for the entire

city. The state government has blocked the
recruitment process. The PMC is unable to cope with the situation. The
existing conservancy staff is insufficient. The civic body’s only option
is to outsource staff,” said Jagtap.

Other corporators,
however, opposed the idea. “The PMC wants to hide its inefficiency in
this matter. If the existing staff is not working, PMC officials should
make them to work,” said Republican Party of India
(RPI) corporator Siddharth Dhende. “It is fact that there is shortage
of staff and workers are under immense pressure but by outsourcing
services, the PMC will benefit private players. Instead, the PMC should
appoint contract laborers,” he added.

NCP corporator Sunil Gogale
said the PMC’s approach towards the entire issue was myopic. “Backward
class community members work as conservancy staff. By outsourcing the
services, the PMC will deprive poor people of the jobs,” he said.

Congress corporator Avinash Bagwe said the PMC should approach the
state government to pave the way for recruiting conservancy staff. “If
the state government allows the posts of engineers and doctors to be
filled up, the PMC should insist on getting permission to fill up the
conservancy staff posts,” said Bagwe.

The final decision on outsourcing conservancy was deferred after the corporators failed to reach a conclusion.

Recently, a city social group had urged the PMC to fill its vacant
posts, increase its efficiency and reduce problems for the public.
“Statistics provided by the PMC show that 1,012 posts are vacant in the
civic body. This is putting an additional load on the existing staff and
hampering the functioning of the administration. The common man who
comes to the PMC to get his work done suffers as a result of the lack of
manpower. The civic administration should fill the vacant posts as soon
as possible,” said Priyanka Sawant, assistant secretary of Parivartan
organisation, which sought the information through an RTI application.