PMC impose ₹9 cr fine on garbage contractor
The weight of the garbage in each vehicle was not mentioned at the ramp, many vehicles did not have an active GPS to locate the vehicle route and distance. Even some vehicles did not have insurance documents
PUNE:
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) imposed a fine of ₹9 crore on the garbage transport contractor for gross negligence in maintaining daily records. The sanctions are for discrepancies in records for the year 2016-17.
Reacting to the development, additional municipal commissioner Kunal Khemnar said, “There were multiple complaints about the said contractor. The PMC solid waste department acted on the complaints and found that the contractor did not maintain proper records. The weight of the garbage in each vehicle was not mentioned at the ramp, many vehicles did not have an active GPS to locate the vehicle route and distance. Even some vehicles did not have insurance documents.”
Khemnar further added that the solid waste department asked the audit department about the fine provision as per the agreement.
“After checking provisions for negligent behaviour, the audit department has given a nod to impose the fine on the said contractor,” he added.
The civic authorities scrutinised 537 bills in the year 2016-17 and found that a total bill of ₹93 crore had been paid for the same year. Going by the rulebook, the PMC imposed a 10 per cent fine on the total bill, amounting to ₹9 crore.
PMC had handed over the work of garbage transport to a private contractor for the last few years. The contractor used to provide vehicles to collect and carry garbage to the segregation depots.