Panchkula: The Panchkula municipal corporation (MC) will table a proposal in its upcoming House meeting to reduce garbage collection charges for local market associations that take responsibility for sweeping their own commercial areas.The initiative follows a strategic meeting held by municipal commissioner Vinay Kumar with market representatives to implement sustainable sanitation models across commercial sectors.Under the agreed terms, shopkeepers and vendors must place dustbins outside their establishments and hand waste over exclusively to the civic body’s authorised door-to-door collection agency. Indiscriminate dumping or creating temporary garbage points in common market spaces has been strictly prohibited.In return, market associations agreed to arrange regular sweeping of commercial zones at their own level. According to commissioner Kumar, this collaborative approach allows the civic body to optimise its manpower and redirect sanitation staff to residential neighbourhoods requiring greater focus.The move comes amid an ongoing statewide strike by sanitation workers. The corporation has maintained essential cleanup services during the strike by prioritising field-level monitoring, stakeholder coordination, and participatory community solutions.“The initiative reflects the municipal corporation’s endeavour to work in partnership with citizens and stakeholders rather than relying solely on municipal manpower for maintaining cleanliness,” said municipal commissioner Vinay Kumar.The ongoing statewide strike by municipal sanitation workers has entered its third week, severely disrupting public cleanliness, street sweeping, and waste management across Haryana. Led by municipal employee unions, the agitation stems from the non-implementation of a 17-point agreement officially reached with the state govt on May 13. Key demands include the regularisation of contractual and daily-wage staff, inclusion of Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam workers on municipal rolls, payment of pending arrears, and the recruitment of staff against vacant posts.In Panchkula, the protest reached a boiling point when striking workers staged a massive demonstration outside the municipal corporation office, forcing police to erect barricades at the main entrance gate. Despite talks convened between a union delegation, mayor Sham Lal Bansal, and municipal commissioner Vinay Kumar, the deadlocks remain unresolved as union leaders have vowed to intensify their agitation until their agreed-upon demands are fully executed statewide.
