DESPITE HEAVY EXPENDITURE, SANITAION IN SHAHPUR NAGAR PANCHAYAT IS DECIMAL

DESPITE HEAVY EXPENDITURE, SANITAION IN SHAHPUR NAGAR PANCHAYAT IS DECIMAL

14-JUNE-ENG 10

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA----------------------------Sanitation management has become a serious concern in Shahpur Nagar Panchayat in Bhojpur district. Despite an annual budget of more than half a billion rupees and payment of about Rs 12 lakh every month to a non-governmental organization (NGO), the town is filled with filth and garbage. The ground reality of the sanitation system and administrative negligence news has been continuously exposed by Aapki. Social worker Krishna Kumar has expressed concern over the failure of filth and garbage management in Shahpur Nagar Panchayat. Mr. Kumar has clearly blamed the NGO which has been given the contract for cleaning.

Krishna Kumar said that during the tenure of former chief councilor Babita Devi, when the cleaning work was done at the departmental level, better results were achieved at less cost (about 7 lakhs). This raises serious questions whether the decision to hand over the work to the NGO was really for “better sanitation management”, or there were some other reasons behind it.

The example given by social worker Krishna Kumar of the tenure of former chief councilor Babita Devi is important. At that time, cleaning was done at the departmental level, which was less expensive and more effective. This raises the question that when an economical and effective system already existed, why was it replaced by giving the responsibility to an expensive and resourceless NGO?

The biggest contradiction is that the Nagar Panchayat is spending a huge amount on cleaning (about ₹1.42 crore annually to the NGO alone), but no positive impact is visible at the ground level. The lack of a suitable place for garbage disposal in the city is the biggest failure of this system.

When a public work is handed over to a private organization (such as an NGO), it is the duty of the city administration to monitor and ensure accountability. Why is the performance of the NGO not being evaluated in return for payment of about Rs 12 lakh every month? What are the terms of the contract and are they being followed?

The city government handed over the cleaning work to an NGO in the hope of “better sanitation management”. More than Rs 11 lakh 87 thousand (₹1.42 crore annually) is being spent on this every month. But, the heaps of garbage around the city prove that this model has completely failed at the ground level in Shahpur Nagar Panchayat.