MOHALI:
Mohali municipal commissioner Sandeep Hans has in a letter to the
Punjab local bodies department said officers and councillors have been complaining that employees on contract go home or spend time on their side-business instead of completing developmental works.
Hans said he has been receiving complaints from executive engineers and sub-divisional officer (SDO)-level officers regarding disobedience on part of contractual workers.
Hans said they have been looking to recruit regular employees as ground staff as they can be held accountable for delay in developmental works.
“The Punjab government had already approved recruitment of regular employees but contractual employees’ union challenged the orders in the high court. Contractual employees cannot be held accountable for delayed works.”
Officers and councillors alleged many contractual employees are either supporting their side-business or waste time instead of concentrating on MC works.
Councillors said they are being questioned by residents for incomplete developmental works in their wards. Sukhdev Singh Patwari, a councillor, said, “The maintenance of parks has been outsourced, but the company has not performed properly for past six months.”
Councillors Kamaljit Singh Ruby, Sukhdev Singh Patwari, Gurmeet Singh Sohal and Parwinder Singh said they are answerable to residents who have voted them to power, but no work has been completed for last 10 months. “Contractual workers have not been acting responsibly and have more or less faltered on completing the civic body works,” they said.
Works like repairing public toilets in various parks, cleaning of parks, removal of vehicles from green belts, door-to-door
garbage collection, setting up of 20 toilets are still pending.
Ward number 24 councillor Kamaljit Singh Ruby said, “The N-choe bisects Phase IX and residents are forced to live under fear of criminals as well as health hazards. The MC is supposed to clean and clear the area and construct cycle tracks, walking paths and fix foot lights on the banks of the choe, but has miserably failed.”
Ward number 35 councillor Parwinder Singh said, “We had written to the MC many a time, but no action has been taken. Earlier, the work was with
Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (Gmada). Now, it has been handed to the MC, but it too has failed.”