Pune: Opposition parties and civic activists have criticised the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) administration following the city’s poor ranking in the Swachh Survekshan - 2019. They have demanded an inquiry into the work of the consultant firm hired by the civic body to document and present the city’s cleanliness status as part of the survey.
The city slipped to 37th rank in the Union government’s Swachh Survekshan - 2019. The issue reflected in the monthly General Body (GB) meeting on Thursday. The Congress and the NCP corporators agitated in the meeting hall and demanded action against the consultant firm. They also sought details of expenditure on the survey.
Congress house leader in PMC Arvind Shinde said, “The civic administration did only cosmetic work by spending crores of rupees on cleanliness and no constructive work was done. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) merely used the Survekshan to promote their party’s interests.”
The ruling party painted its party symbol and its leaders’ names on walls across the city under the pretext of spreading awareness about cleanliness.”
Opposition leader and NCP corporator Dilip Barate said, “Our staff has done a good job but we failed to submit proper documents. We deputed consultancy firm KPMG for the preparation and submission of documents. We paid Rs 34 lakh to the firm. We should probe the work done by the company and demand refund of the money paid as their fees.”
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Bhosale said, “It is the civic administration’s failure and it has wasted money.”
BJP leader of house Shrinath Bhimale said, “We worked hard. However, more cities participated in the competition and our rank dropped. Earlier, we were competing in the category of cities having over 10 lakh population. This time, the Union government included all cities having a population of one lakh and above in the same category. On the other hand, we have done good work in solid waste management and have got awards. So, we should not be disappointed with the results. We should start preparing for next year’s Survekshan.”
Additional Municipal Commissioner Rajendra Nimbalkar said, “This year, the Union government included the certification and the ranking, in which we failed. Lack of cleanliness in public toilets, ineffective door-to-door garbage collection and lack of public awareness are some of the reasons for our failure. However, we tried our best. We assure you that we will improve our rank in the Survekshan next year.”
Civic activist Vivek Velankar said, “The PMC should publish details about funds used for the Swachh Survekshan after the result.”
