Don’t rent machines for sweeping roads, says government

Gurgaon: The urban local bodies (ULB) department has banned the hiring of truck-mounted road sweeping machines from private contractors, citing “misuse of government funds” by the municipal corporations.
In an order issued on Tuesday, the director general of the ULB department said the state government has procured 44 truck-mounted sweeping machines between September 2019 and January 2020 for the purpose of mechanised sweeping of roads at night, which helps reduce dust pollution.
He said it has come to the notice of his office that despite strict directions, some municipalities have still engaged truck-mounted machines on rent or contractual basis through some private contractors, which is leading to misuse of government funds.
The order stated municipal corporations will use the machines available with the government, further warning that strict action would be taken against municipal commissioners in case of any violation.
Such machines shall not be hired on rent or contractual basis from private contractors. If any municipality requires them, a request should be submitted to the ULB office.
If it comes to the notice that any municipality is still using these sweeping machines through private contractor, strict action will be taken against the commissioner, who will be held solely responsible for misappropriation of government funds or any audit objections in this regard, the director general said in his order.
The MCG has 10 road sweeping machines for four zones. Of these, six are owned by the government, three are rented and one is owned by the corporation. The civic body is paying rent of around Rs 30 lakh every month for three machines and around Rs 35 lakh as maintenance for the remaining seven machines.
A senior MCG official told TOI that each machine costs nearly Rs 1 crore and can clean a stretch of 30km in one night at a cost of Rs 1100 per km. “It is not possible to implement the order, as the three machines have a three-year contract and it has been less than a year,” he said.
TOI had earlier reported that the machines are shown to be working only in MCG records, but are rarely seen at the sites where sweeping has been scheduled. During surprise checks carried out by the sanitation department, the machines were not found at the scheduled spots.
In 2016, MCG had procured four machines for sweeping of roads, mainly in areas where construction work was underway. Later, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board suggested that the corporation add more machines to its fleet to ensure roads are adequately cleaned.