Waste pickup stops in Manesar after row; want cleanliness to be restored, but not at cost of our employees: Agency

Gurgaon: Doorstep waste collection services remained suspended across Manesar on Friday, a day after the private agency handling the work stopped operations, alleging intimidation, harassment and political interference during an official vehicle verification drive. During a meeting on Friday, MCM commissioner Pradeep Singh said payments to the contractor would be made strictly based on RFID and GPS reports generated through the Solid Waste Management portal.The agency’s business head, Gaurav Joshi, said the company will have a discussion with its staff about their safety before deciding on resuming operations. “We want cleanliness operations to be restored at the earliest, but the dignity and safety of our employees must also be ensured. Without this assurance, we cannot resume work,” Joshi said.The controversy erupted when drivers and company staff accused Manesar mayor Inderjeet Kaur Yadav’s husband, Rakesh Yadav, of conducting an unauthorised inspection of the agency’s waste collection vehicles. Drivers alleged they were threatened, humiliated and warned their vehicles would not be allowed to operate. According to the company, MCM officials had directed the agency to bring all 184 vehicles deployed for door-to-door collection to Kankrola on Wednesday evening for verification, with the joint commissioner’s office and the mayor expected to oversee the process. The firm complied, stationing all vehicles at the site, but the mayor did not show up. Instead, her husband arrived with two councillors and began questioning drivers about GPS installations, vehicle ownership and rental agreements.“We recommended a probe by a DC-formed panel without the presence of any MCM official or councillors to ensure transparency and no biased report. It was then decided that the contractor will submit a complaint to the DC and a request will be made to constitute a probe panel,” senior deputy mayor Praveen Yadav said.Addressing the meeting, the MCM commissioner said the agency was hired to collect garbage from 1,10,545 houses. Sanitation workers must scan RFID tags affixed outside every house while collecting waste. The GPS tracking report and RFID data are cross-verified, and any mismatch attracts penalties against the agency, he added.Moreover, MCM decided to suspend a recently awarded contract for the maintenance of 34 community toilets after councillors alleged that the private firm awarded the work order in April failed to begin operations. The issue was raised by the senior deputy mayor and discussed extensively before the suspension decision was taken.It was also decided that ward-level committees headed by councillors would be formed to monitor cleanliness, encroachment and advertisement-related issues in their respective wards. Councillors will submit reports directly on civic issues in their areas as part of the new monitoring mechanism.