High degree of absenteeism among the safai karamcharis of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is largely responsible for Delhi being called a dirty city.
Otherwise, with a strength of over 40,000 safai karamcharis in MCD, not a piece of paper should have been found on the road, sanitation officials concede.
Such is the sanitation scenario that most of the safai karamcharis simply disappear after reporting for work at 7 a.m. Most of them do the sweeping just for a couple of hours. There are also a large number of sweepers who never report for work in connivance with the sanitary inspectors and sanitary superintendents, and they still draw a handsome salary of Rs 4,200 every month.
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These sweepers who earn while they stay at home are called Lahoris in the local dialect. There are also many safai karamcharis whose names are on the MCD rolls but their work is done by their relative or a known person. Such safai karamcharis are called Peshawaris.
A sanitary superintendent, on the condition of anonymity, said that the number of lahoris and peshawaris in his zone could be as high as 1000. Having worked in other zones also, the SS said that the problem of sweeper absenteeism was more acute in the South and West Zones as also the zones falling in rural areas like Najafgarh and Narela. In these areas, even if the street and surface cleansing is not done for a week, nobody notices.
A sanitary inspector said that the number of lahoris and peshawaris was highest in the Shahdara (North) and Shahdara (South) zones. He said that the combined strength of such absentee sweepers in trans-Yamuna could be as high as 3000.
A senior official of the sanitation department pegged the number of absentee sweepers all over Delhi at a conservative 8 to 9 per cent, i.e. 3,600 safai karamcharis. But according to some ruling party councillors, the number of lahoris and peshawaris is around 12,000, and the MCD is losing as much as Rs 5 crores every month on account of this system which has been prevalent for past many decades.
While some of the sanitation staff that The Hindustan Times spoke to blamed the elected members for not allowing them to function unless money is paid, the councillors claimed that the sanitary inspectors and sanitary superintendents were responsible for the malaise in the sanitation department.
Talking about the dereliction of duty by the safai karamcharis, opposition party member Atma Ram Gupta said that the situation was so bad that if an ASI or SI tries to be strict, he is abused by the safai karamcharis and complaints are made against him.
He said that many safai karamcharis who report at 7 a.m. do not come back to attend roll call at 12 noon and 2.30 p.m..
He added that these karamcharis are still marked present by the sanitation staff for fear of reprisal from the more vociferous karamcharis who enjoy the protection of union leaders.
When contacted, Leader of the House and Standing Committee Chairman, Mr Shanti Desai conceded that absenteeism does exist in the sanitation department. It is taking place with the collusion of senior officers, he said. "However if Councillors can keep proper check, absenteeism can be minimised," Mr Desai said.