Mohali councillors demand blacklisting of contractor over poor sanitation
Councillors alleged that sweeping machines are being driven at high speeds, making them ineffective in cleaning roads
The Mohali municipal corporation (MC) House meeting on Wednesday turned noisy once again, with councillors raising strong objections to the city’s deteriorating sanitation. They blamed the mechanical sweeping contractor for failing to keep the city clean and demanded immediate cancellation of his contract and blacklisting.
Councillors alleged that sweeping machines are being driven at high speeds, making them ineffective in cleaning roads. “The machines rush through the process without properly sweeping, leaving garbage behind. The city is turning into a garbage pool,” councillors complained.
MC commissioner Parminder Pal Singh, however, said that the process of contract termination will be taken up legally after examining all contract clauses. “The contractor has already been fined thrice— ₹15,000, ₹20,000, and ₹10,000—for negligence. We have also cautioned him that his working style is more like a subcontractor, which is not acceptable. He promised improvement, but the results remain unsatisfactory,” the commissioner said.
He further advised councillors against immediate termination, warning that it may halt sanitation work for at least three months, the time required to engage a new contractor. Councillors later agreed that the contractor must be strictly instructed to comply with the terms of the existing contract, failing which strict action should follow.
Over the past year, the MC has repeatedly fined the sweeping contractor following persistent complaints of poor sanitation, irregular sweeping, and clogged road gullies. Penalties imposed include ₹45 lakh for failing to sweep roads, ₹8 lakh for not washing footpaths, ₹3 lakh for blocked road gullies, and ₹1.65 lakh for littering. In total, fines amounting to nearly ₹60,000 were also levied for specific lapses in recent months.
Mechanical sweeping was reintroduced in Mohali in August 2024 after a three-year gap, with much fanfare and promises of cleaner streets. The project, inaugurated by MLA Kulwant Singh, was meant to cover nearly 255 km of ‘A’ (100-ft-wide main stretches) and ‘B’ (60–80-ft-wide sector link) roads. However, despite repeated assurances, residents continue to complain about garbage heaps and unclean roads.
Councillor flags negligence over road excavation in Ward Number 1
A heated exchange was witnessed in the House meeting on Wednesday, when Ward Number 1 councillor Jaspreet Kaur raised the issue of newly constructed roads in her ward being demolished within two months to lay a new sewerage line.
Kaur alleged that the roads, which had been completed only recently, were excavated again due to poor planning and negligence by the civic body. She pointed out that both projects—the road construction and sewerage lying—had been prepared and sanctioned by MC engineers. “If the sewerage line had to be laid, it should have been done before constructing the road. Who is responsible for this financial loss to the department?” she asked the commissioner.
Expressing concern over the hardships faced by residents, the councillor said that the ongoing work by contractors had made the locality “a living hell.” She demanded that a proper inquiry be initiated, responsibility fixed, and the guilty officials or contractors punished. “The loss incurred should be recovered from those found guilty,” she asserted.
Kaur further informed the House that she has submitted a written complaint to the secretary, local government, with copies marked to the MC commissioner, the director, local government, and the MLA from Mohali.
