Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has approved a special Diwali grant of Rs 30,000 each for workers employed by door-to-door waste-collection contractors during the 2025-26 financial year, providing seasonal financial support to staff responsible for a daily civic service.
The decision was approved by the corporation’s standing committee after the administration placed a proposal seeking a special grant or bonus for ghanta-gadi workers. Standing committee chairperson Abhishek Barne said the grant had been approved in recognition of the workers’ role in collecting waste from households and helping the city manage its disposal.
The payment will apply to employees working with the contractors appointed by the municipal corporation for door-to-door waste collection. The source report did not specify the total number of eligible workers or the overall financial outlay for the scheme.
Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has been providing waste-collection services through ghanta-gadi workers under its health department since 1997. The civic body has also been giving them a special Diwali reward since 2006, according to the report. The latest request for the 2025-26 financial year was made by the municipal employees’ federation and ghanta-gadi contractors.
Municipal commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi had approved the payment of Rs 30,000 per worker on November 2. The standing committee subsequently approved the proposal, completing the civic body’s stated approval process for the special grant.
Barne said the decision acknowledged the work performed by waste-collection staff throughout the year. “The responsibility of collecting waste and keeping the city clean and beautiful is being carried out by ghanta-gadi workers around the clock. It was necessary to recognise their hard work and provide financial support during the festive season,” he said, according to the report.
The approval comes within a service model in which the municipal corporation appoints contractors while workers undertake collection at the household level. The arrangement places contracted sanitation staff at the operational centre of the city’s waste system, even though the report does not provide details of their employment terms, contractor-wise workforce or payment schedule.
The same standing committee meeting also approved a separate festival incentive for ASHA volunteers and group organisers working in slum and slum-like areas under the National Health Mission. Eligible volunteers who worked for at least six months, or 180 days, between September 2025 and August 2026 will receive between Rs 7,000 and Rs 15,000. That payment will be charged to the medical department’s family welfare programme account head for bonus and ex-gratia grants.
The waste-collection workers’ grant is for the 2025-26 financial year, and the supplied report does not state when the payments will be disbursed or whether any additional eligibility conditions will apply.
