The Pune Municipal Corporation has fined six contractors for poor sweeping work across the city and recovered around Rs 6.25 lakh in penalties, as it moves to tighten supervision of outsourced solid-waste services. The civic body said sweeping quality has improved by around 50% after it began imposing a penalty of Rs 1,000 for every worker found negligent.
The action follows inspections by PMC officials who found garbage remaining at locations where sweeping work had already been carried out. Sweeping operations in different areas have been assigned to separate contractors under various ward offices, while officials are conducting spot checks to assess whether the work is being performed according to prescribed standards.
The PMC has also started a three-month performance-based sweeping project on a pilot basis. Additional Municipal Commissioner Prajit Nair has inspected several areas and said surprise inspections would continue in the coming days. The enforcement drive is intended to make contractors more accountable for the quality of work delivered on city streets.
According to the PMC’s solid waste management department, notices were issued to Priyank Enterprises Prime Avenue, Sumit Facilities Ltd, Siddhivinayak Enterprises and Global Waste Management Cell Pvt Ltd, among others. The civic body has combined notices with direct financial penalties, marking a shift from the earlier practice of relying largely on warnings.
The largest penalty mentioned in the report was imposed under the Bibwewadi ward office. L.V.G. Facilities India Pvt Ltd was fined Rs 2.75 lakh after its work remained below expectations even two months after the pilot project began. Under the Kothrud-Bavdhan ward office, Lokrajya Self-Employment Services Cooperative Society was fined Rs 20,000.
“Earlier, contractors were mostly issued notices. One company was fined Rs 5,000. We have now started imposing a penalty of Rs 1,000 per worker. This has resulted in around 50% improvement in the work,” Santosh Varule, deputy commissioner in the PMC’s solid waste management department, said.
The enforcement model places ward-level inspections at the centre of the PMC’s attempt to improve everyday sanitation. Since sweeping is carried out through multiple contractors across separate administrative areas, the results of the pilot will depend on whether inspections, worker-level penalties and contractor performance assessments are applied consistently. The PMC’s three-month pilot and planned surprise inspections are the next milestones in the process.
