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Mira Bhayandar: Already under the scanner over allegations of favouritism to certain politically-backed bidders in the multi-crore garbage lifting contract, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has chosen to turn a blind eye towards the safety and hygiene of the 1600-odd sanitary workers hired by the contractors.
Although new compactor vehicles have been added to the fleet of garbage lifting trucks with separate compartments for wet and dry waste, the sanitation workers can be seen collecting the garbage and tossing it into the vans with bare hands sans masks, gloves, boots or any other protective gear, posing a serious threat to their health and safety.
After shying away from floating tenders for more than five years, the MBMC finally appointed two agencies in 2023 for the for zone 1 and zone II for the work envisaging-daily sweeping, cleaning of roads, gutters, pavements, markets, door to door collection and transportation of dry-wet waste separately to the dump yard at Dhaavgi village in Uttan in adherence as per the provisions under the municipal solid waste (MSW) rules, 2016.
The garbage collection contract which carries an annual price tag of Rs 64 crore and Rs 92 crore annually for both the zones respectively had been challenged in the court of law by rival bidders alleging favouritism and distortions in the tender procurement process by escalating the budgetary allocations to astronomical levels.
However, the actual ground work has been allegedly sub-contracted to local companies who have deprived the sanitation workers of the protective gear, leaving them prone to skin and other ailments.
On the other hand, contractors claim that they regularly provide the workers with the needed protective gear, but they hardly use it. Not wishing to reveal his name as he could lose his job, an on-duty worker showed his hands which had turned black due to handling garbage.
According to the MSW rules the civic administration in its capacity as the principal employer should ensure that the contractor provides protective gear to all workers involved in handling solid waste.
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