Found sans GPS watches, 302 Panchkula MC workers to lose pay

Sanjay Bumbroo

Panchkula, November 3

Taking serious note of the reports that workers of sanitation and other wings of the Municipal Corporation were not wearing GPS-enabled wrist watches, Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal today directed officials not to release the salary of such employees for the month of October.

According to information, Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal, accompanied by chief sanitation inspector Avinash Singla, checked the attendance through watches given to the workers of the sanitation department and other wings. They found that only 433 sanitation workers were wearing these watches while 273 employees were not wearing it. Similarly, 19 employees of the electrical wing were using GPS watches and 11 were not. In the horticulture wing, 74 workers were wearing watches, while 18 were not using the gadget.

A total of 302 employees were not using these watches through which their attendance was marked to check their presence at the job sites.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Panchkula MC had in 2019 purchased 800 GPS-enables wrist watches to keep a check on irregularities in attendance of the sanitation staff and other field staff of the electricity and horticulture departments. For each watch, the MC pays Rs 400 per month as rent.

Meanwhile, the Mayor also gave instructions to deduct 25 per cent of the payment due to the company running night sweeping machines in the city. During an inspection, the Mayor, who was accompanied by councillors Suresh Verma and Jai Kaushik, found that only two of the four machines were operational. The brushes of the ones being used had worn out. He said the complaints of irregularities were being received for a long time in this regard. He said these machines were supposed to run for 32 kilometers daily, but cleaning was not being done accordingly.

It is mandatory to run these sweeping machines daily from 9 pm to 7 am. “Therefore, instructions have been given to officials to keep a strict watch on the sweeping work at night,” the Mayor said.

Deduct payment of sanitation firm

Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal also gave instructions to deduct 25 per cent of the payment due to the company running night sweeping machines in the city. During an inspection, the Mayor, who was accompanied by councillors Suresh Verma and Jai Kaushik, found that only two of the four machines were operational. The brushes of the ones being used had worn out.