Little change in resources though wards grew from 60 to 100
PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) has asked the State administration to approve the recruitment of at least 720 additional sanitation workers to address the city’s growing waste management challenges. Officials claimed that the current workforce is insufficient to maintain cleanliness across all wards, particularly the areas brought under the corporation’s purview about eight years ago.
Dehradun currently has about 2,300 sanitation workers, roughly the same number it had when the corporation managed only 60 wards, as per the Dehradun mayor Saurabh Thapliyal. He said that over the past eight years, the State government increased the number of wards under the MCD from 60 to 100 but no significant additional budget or manpower support was provided. Many of the newly added wards are large and dedicated staff is required to ensure regular sanitation services.
Thapliyal said, “We have been performing sanitation duties with the resources available but the shortage of workers limits our ability to maintain standards. We have sent a proposal for 720 additional workers to the State administration which is under consideration. We hope it will be approved soon. This will help us carry out sanitation related work efficiently and without compromise,” he said.
Several residents report irregular garbage collection, accumulation of roadside waste and a lack of segregation at the source. In several areas like Raipur, garbage dumping has extended to locations near forests, where it goes largely unnoticed on a daily basis. These issues raise concerns about public health and environmental impact. The MCD officials acknowledge these challenges but stress that they are operating within existing constraints. The shortage of manpower, combined with other limited resources and lack of civic sense among people, has made it difficult to maintain consistent cleanliness across the city. Despite these limitations, the corporation continues to plan and implement measures to improve sanitation services, according to them. The mayor also stated that the sanitation challenge in Dehradun highlights the need for both administrative support and community participation and agreed that addressing the shortage of sanitation workers, ensuring regular garbage collection and promoting waste segregation at the source will be crucial to improving the city’s sanitation standards and claimed that MCD is working to address all these issues.
