Jaipur: Jaipur Municipal Corporation’s (JMC) sanitation arrangements have come under fire, with Congress councillors alleging that the civic body failed to deploy additional workers promised during Diwali.They alleged that while Mayor Sunil Kothari had assured that 20 temporary sanitation workers would be provided in each of the city’s 150 wards from Oct 15 to Nov 15, the additional workforce was not deployed despite the civic body initiating a process involving an expenditure of around Rs 2.9 crore.Councillors also alleged some elected representatives were offered cash instead of the promised workforce. Congress councillors from Civil Lines zone are currently protesting against the mayor over the issue.Ward 93 councillor Jitendra Sharma said the assurance was given at a meeting of Civil Lines zone councillors at JMC headquarters before Diwali. “We were promised 20 additional temporary sanitation workers for every ward. Meanwhile, a ward-wise cleanliness drive was also organised. Whenever we asked officials where the additional workers were, they told us that they had been deployed for the cleanliness campaign. But even when it was our ward’s turn, we did not see any of these additional workers,” he said.Ward 91 councillor Sitaram Mehra also alleged that no additional sanitation workers were deployed in his ward despite the assurance, with no improvement in cleanliness.He claimed officials offered him money when he approached them seeking workers. Mehra further alleged that after he raised the issue with senior officials, workers stopped visiting his ward altogether. He said the cleanliness drive was reduced to a formality, with officials and staff leaving after the oath-taking ceremony.Congress councillors have warned that if the issue remains unresolved, all party councillors in Jaipur will join hands to launch a larger protest.
