JMC hires services of NGOs to maintain sanitation in the city

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Mar 21: Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) hired Non Government Organisations (NGO) for sharing the work by deputing safai karamcharis for other works.

There are total seven NGOs working with JMC to share their workload and around 1300 safai karamcharis are working with JMC through NGOs.

Each NGO pays around Rs One Lakh Thirty Eight Thousand (1,38,000) tax annually to JMC where as nowhere NGOs are entitled to pay tax in rest of country.

According to the sources the work pressure on them is very high as compare to the daily wages being provided to them. There are total 68 wards under JMC for which around 2000 safai karamcharis are deployed; and in Srinagar Municipal Corporation has 68 wards and 3000 Safai karamcharis engaged for the work.

Sources further said that these workers doing dangerous work where in they are likely to caught infection easily but no regular medical checkup, no immunization, no medical aid is being provided to them exposing them to threat of catching infections and other diseases.

“We are the identity of JMC as corporation’s main work is to keep the city clean which is impossible without us but distressing plea is that we are in worst condition, getting meager wages and ironically the poor are paying tax to JMC” said a safai karamchari preferring anonymity.

It is only in Jammu Municipal Corporation the NGOs are liable to pay tax whereas the Srinagar Municipal Corporation have all their own employees and not hired any NGOs.

Jammu generates nearly 350 tonnes of garbage daily and it is expected that the there will be tremendous increase in the solid waste generation in next decade keeping in view the population increase.

Despite giving them additional budget allocation, the people living in newly created wards under Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) are still devoid of basic amenities.

Although for last four years 48-new wards have received nearly Rs 30 lakh each but they have proved insufficient as most of the colonies were unplanned, eating up most of the funds simple projects.

Before the formation of JMC in 2005, there were 23 wards but as the city had expanded the government decided to create 48 new wards covering the newly established colonies which came up during the past two decades. Now there are 71 municipal wards under JMC.