logo
No job losses, BMC promises sanitation workers in agreement

No job losses, BMC promises sanitation workers in agreement

Hindustan Times7 days ago
MUMBAI: In a final resolution to the almost two-month-long conflict between the BMC and the sanitation workers union, both parties signed an agreement on Monday. With this, the fears of the BMC's motor loaders—those who tip garbage into compactors—have been laid to rest, while the BMC is free to go ahead with its plan of outsourcing the mammoth task of waste collection and transportation to contractors. BMC and the sanitation workers union signed an agreement on Monday
The agreement promises that no sanctioned post of the BMC's sanitation workers will be reduced, and, moreover, those working on contract in the civic body—which the unions say could be up to 8,000 workers—will be given permanent jobs. This will follow after a six-day period of verification of the workers' claims. Their cases in court for permanency, once the process is complete, will be withdrawn.
The BMC additionally promised that no sanitation worker chowky in the city would be shut, and the service conditions of the BMC's permanent motor loaders would not be affected. Around 70% to 75% of the motor loaders will be given jobs similar to their own, which is likely to be sweeping shifts, while the remaining 25% to 30% will get similarly suitable work.
The civic body has, moreover, agreed to act upon the recommendations of the Lad Page committee and give certain benefits to sanitation workers and their kin. It will also abide by the permanent housing promised to them by the BMC's Ashray Yojana scheme.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Mumbai Coastal Road: BMC to rope in civil engineers from multiple departments to meet manpower demand
Mumbai Coastal Road: BMC to rope in civil engineers from multiple departments to meet manpower demand

Indian Express

time7 hours ago

  • Indian Express

Mumbai Coastal Road: BMC to rope in civil engineers from multiple departments to meet manpower demand

With civil work for Mumbai Coastal Road's second phase set to begin from September first week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed roping in hundreds of civil engineers from its multiple departments, as 200-plus civil engineers will be required for the project's supervision. 'To ensure the project is executed seamlessly, we will be deploying civic officials with civil engineering degrees from various departments, including roads, sewerage, and water supply. These officials will be responsible for supervising the contractors and the day-to-day progress of the job, along with other technicalities,' said a senior BMC official. The BMC administration has thus mooted the deployment of nearly 200 additional officers to the bridges department, a proposal that is currently awaiting clearance from the municipal commissioner. Officials said the bridges department does not have adequate manpower for all the projects it is executing. 'At present, there are several other key projects of the bridges department that are ongoing, including Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR). Besides this, there are several other projects of new bridge construction and maintenance of existing facilities that are in the pipeline. We will need manpower for this also. So we have to bank on other departments for manpower,' an official said. The first phase of Mumbai Coastal Road, which connects Marine Drive with the Bandra Worli Sea Link, was inaugurated last year. For the construction and maintenance of this 10-km-long phase, civic authorities had constituted a dedicated department. However, the BMC's bridges department is executing the second phase. Asked why the dedicated department, set up under the supervision of a chief engineer, was not assigned the task of executing the second phase, an official said, 'The department is responsible for the maintenance of the ready phase, and ancillary work like setting up open spaces and creating walkways also remains. Therefore, there will be extra pressure on that department.' Phase two of the coastal road will have a series of underground tunnels, a cable-stayed bridge, and vehicular interchanges that will improve north-south connectivity. BMC officials said the civil work for the coastal road would begin by September first week. This includes the mobilisation of machinery as well as setting up casting yards. The boring of twin tunnels that will connect Mindspace at Malad with Charkop is set to begin from early 2027, and the tunnel boring machine is set to arrive early next year, according to the officials. The proposed second phase of the coastal road has been divided into six different packages. Package A will cover the 4.5 km between Versova and Bangur Nagar (Goregaon), and package B will cover the 1.66 km between Bangur Nagar and Mindspace. The packages C and D will include twin tunnels—3.9 km long—connecting Mindspace with Charkop in Kandivali. Package E will be 3.78 km long, connecting Charkop with Gorai, and package F will cover the 3.69 km between Gorai and Dahisar. From Dahisar, the civic authorities are constructing an elevated corridor of 5.6 km that will extend till Bhayander in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The coastal road will also provide connectivity with GMLR, an east-west connector being constructed by the Mumbai civic body. The cost of these two phases, covering 20 km in total, has been pegged at Rs 20,000 crore. The BMC secured environmental clearances for the project last year and started the on-ground work this year.

‘Unchecked commercialisation of a residential area': HC asks govt to halt ‘illegal' constructions
‘Unchecked commercialisation of a residential area': HC asks govt to halt ‘illegal' constructions

Time of India

timea day ago

  • Time of India

‘Unchecked commercialisation of a residential area': HC asks govt to halt ‘illegal' constructions

Bhopal: The issue of rampant commercialisation of the posh, residential area of Arera Colony has finally reached MP high court's steps. The petitioners are seeking court intervention to stop large-scale illegal constructions of shops, showrooms, hotels, restaurants, office complexes, and other commercial establishments in E-1 to E-5 Arera Colony. This area has been designated as residential since 1968 when residential plots were given on lease to people for building houses. To this date, the land use of the area has not changed, and it continues to be residential, but its rampant commercialisation is visible to all. Following the initial hearing of the petition, a division bench of the MP High Court, comprising Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf, issued notices to the state govt, BMC, discom and other respondents and directed that no illegal construction in Arera Colony be allowed until the petition is resolved. The petitioners, Purnendu Shukla, a resident of E-4 Arera Colony, and environmentalist Subhash C Pandey, said in their petition that they are not challenging any specific order but are aggrieved by the inaction and delay in resolving the issues raised by them in their representations to the authorities. These issues pertain to large-scale illegal constructions and the illegal conversion of land use in Arera Colony (E-1 to E-5 residential area) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Global Indices Are on the Move — Time to Trade! IC Markets Learn More Undo These activities are affecting and violating Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which protects the fundamental right to life and liberty of the citizens, they said. The petitioners pointed out that in 1968, the areas comprising sectors E-1 to E-5 of Arera Colony, Bhopal, were developed under a Capital Project. The allotment of land for development was carried out by the governor of MP, through the collector, specifically for the residential use of city residents. The said allotments of lease included clause 17, stating, "The lessee shall not, without the previous permission in writing of the lessor, use or allow to be used the said land for a purpose other than as a dwelling house." The land was given at subsidised rates to address the housing needs of individuals through various housing societies established for the benefit of their members. The allotments were granted on a leasehold basis for an initial term of thirty years, with a provision for renewal. They further pointed out that according to the Master Plan of Bhopal, as formulated and sanctioned by the Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Govt of Madhya Pradesh, the region of Arera Colony, Bhopal, MP, has been exclusively demarcated for residential purposes in the case. However, several perpetrators have discarded such rules and regulations, enabling unauthorised encroachments and other illegal construction activities for commercial purposes. Arguing that rampant commercialisation of Arera Colony is affecting the quality of life of the residents and the environment as a whole, the petitioners prayed for the court to direct the officials concerned to immediately halt the illegal constructions in Arera Colony. They also requested the court to direct the central power discom not to give non-domestic electricity connections in the area and to discontinue the existing non-domestic connections in Arera Colony. Additionally, they sought the appointment of a high-powered committee headed by a retired High Court judge to investigate all violations in Arera Colony E1-E5 with respect to planning laws, lease misuse, illegal construction, and misuse of govt policies in the case. They requested directions to the Bhopal municipal corporation, town and country planning, urban development and housing department, and chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh to order the restoration of planning sanctity and the demolition or sealing of unauthorised commercial constructions in Arera Colony. After initial arguments, the court issued notices to the chief secretary, principal secretary, revenue and urban development, commissioner, town & country planning, capital project administration (CPA), which has now been merged with PWD, collector Bhopal, commissioner, BMC, and managing director of MP Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Ltd (MPMKVVCL). They were asked to respond within four weeks and to ensure that there is no unauthorised illegal construction activity carried out contrary to the sanctioned building plan or Master Plan of the area in question. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !

BMC's multi-modal tunnel project gets boost as two international consultants express interest
BMC's multi-modal tunnel project gets boost as two international consultants express interest

Indian Express

timea day ago

  • Indian Express

BMC's multi-modal tunnel project gets boost as two international consultants express interest

At least two international consultants have shown interest in designing the roadmap for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) ambitious Rs. 4,392 crore multi-modal tunnel connectivity project. First floated in February 2024, th1e global tender — which seeks to rope in a consultant to conduct a feasibility study and chalk out a master plan for the project — has found no takers over the past one year, making it amongst the civic body's longest live tender. Aimed at alleviating traffic congestion across the city as well as improving connectivity in the larger MMR region, the 'multi-modal' plan seeks to introduce a new layer of transport network in the MMR in the form of tunnels. On the basis of traffic studies and technical findings, tunnels of different diameters and lengths will be constructed under the ambit of the project. According to preliminary estimates, the project is slated to cost the civic body Rs. 4,392 crore, with each 6-km tunnel proposed to cost Rs. 732 crore. It was in February 2024 that the civic body had floated a tender seeking the appointment of a project management consultant (PMC) to conduct feasibility studies and prepare a master plan for the project as well as overlook the bid management and overall multimodal connectivity project. The tender, however drew feeble responses while the bidding process was also struck by technical challenges. Giving fresh impetus to the project over a year later, the BMC in July, this year, reuploaded the tender – in continuation to its previous 2024 tender – with some revised provisions. While the final bid for the tender is slated to be opened on August 19, senior officials from the BMC confirmed with The Indian Express that at least two international consultants have expressed interest in the project. 'The scope of the project is massive and this is amongst the most ambitious projects of the BMC. For the work, we floated a global tender back in February 2024. As of July, at least two international consultants have expressed interest in carrying out the project work. However, the final packet of the tender bid is expected to close, later in the month,' said a senior official from BMC. According to officials, consultants will be tasked with conducting traffic studies, gauging the feasibility as well as preparing a design for the layout of the tunnel network. 'The scope of the project is very wide. In the first phase, the tunnels will be planned only in some pockets. To prepare a road map of the tunnel network, the consultants will be appointed to first study the high traffic zones, check feasibility, finalise the locations as well as prepare designs for the tunnel network,' an official told Express. Even as the tender to rope in a consultant had been first floated in February 2024, the tender has remained stuck in stasis amid paucity of bidders. Responding to questions about the delay, officials pointed to the vast scope of work as well as technical challenges in the bidding process. Meanwhile, some sources have also alluded that the project has remained on the backburner owing to the project triggering more vehicular congestion in light of the array of works already unfolding in the city.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store