Pune: PCMC Initiates Online Monitoring of Road Cleaning Vehicles; Notices Issued to Contractors

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Pimpri, 31st October 2024: Contractors responsible for mechanical road cleaning in Pimpri Chinchwad will now face strict consequences for falsely increasing kilometers without properly cleaning the roads. The Health Department of the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has implemented online monitoring of cleaning vehicles by making necessary adjustments to the Global Positioning System (GPS) used for tracking.

Contractors have been found running the cleaning vehicles without activating the brushes, a tactic used to increase the distance covered without effectively cleaning the roads. To address this, PCMC has enhanced its monitoring systems, ensuring that the vehicles are being used correctly. According to Ajinkya Yele, Assistant Commissioner of the Health Department, the system has been updated to detect whether the brushes are in use during cleaning operations.

PCMC mechanically cleans roads wider than 18 meters, dividing the city into North and South zones. Since February 2024, four contractors have been responsible for road cleaning in these zones. Each zone is equipped with two large and two medium road sweepers, two Hyva trucks, and a water tanker. To manage these vehicles, 55 workers are assigned to each zone, including 32 sweepers, nine drivers, ten operators, and four helpers. Each road sweeper is tasked with cleaning 40 kilometers of roads daily.

It is mandatory for the contractors to clean roads wider than 18 meters, BRTS corridors, highway footpaths, and both sides of service roads three times a week. They are also required to clean the median of the main roads and wall-side areas once a week. However, the PCMC discovered that contractors were operating cleaning vehicles without proper sweeping, merely driving the vehicles to increase their reported mileage.

As a result, the PCMC issued five notices to Antony Waste Handling Cell Limited, four to Lion Service, three to REIL Waste Management LLP, and two to Bhumika Transport. Lion Service has also been fined ₹50,000 for failing to meet the required standards.

To further ensure compliance, PCMC has updated the system to verify whether the cleaning vehicle brushes are being used during mechanical cleaning operations.