Swachh Bharath - How Effective The Program Is?

Swachh Bharath - How Effective The Program Is?

Urban sanitation came to stand still in Telangana & AP for last 6 to 8 days due to sanitation workers noncooperation. It is observed in Hyderabad that the drainages are overflowing, trash is spreading on roads and making the city unhygienic & from few areas spread of diseases is reported. The situation will be more dangerous if it rains. 

Two months back, GOT took up Swachh Hyderabad as a flagship program & 3 days drive with tall claims of few thousand MT of waste cleared & repair of potholes etc. Senior officers were made in charges of each ward.  About 160 crores budget allotted for the program. GOT & respective state Governments honored celebrities and popular citizens  as brand ambassadors.

Yesterday I interacted with two sanitation workers who are on strike. They have a feeling that the "Swachh Hyderabad" drive was planned only for officers/politicians/celebrities photo sessions & real work was carried out by regular system only. They feel that even without these special drives also with bit of planned approach from top management of GHMC, even better impact can be achieved.  

Ours is a upper middle class colony, surrounded by all cross sections of people and can name it as little India. I had never come across any of the brand ambassadors or the ward in charges of GHMC coming to our  colony and making attempts towards promoting "Swachh Hyderabad " or initiation of some community actions. In fact in last one week people are suffering  badly and no one from these elite sections came to motivate public and no such signs are visible ( If I am proved wrong, I will be the most happiest person).   

The interactions with sanitations workers further revealed that there is differential treatment between contract & permanent employees. The contract employees are put on most dirty works, odd hours working, ill treatment, unofficial works and exploitation.  There is no respect for hierarchy starting from bottom to top, due to suspension of more and more underhand deals. Because of these suspensions, the system is not able to ask for scheduled deliveries, productivity etc.

If these can be addressed and clear the doubts (more within the system than public) , the productivity and timely actions can be assured. Without looking at these basic & burning issues, even if the wages are increased as demanded it will be of no use. Governments have to take these strikes as an opportunity & bring in accountability in the system.

  

Corporate companies will have vision/mission in place and successive management will implement strategic plans within the vision. Independent bodies like  GHMC, which is much larger than larger corporate, mostly they tend to become person oriented and driven by successive commissioners, resulting in imbalances.

It is shared that successive commissioners bring in their own people on deputation, implement their personal agenda mostly without continuity , talk things like builders, beautification, beggars welfare etc, with hidden agenda of bundles & biscuits.  I am confident that our successive commissioners are welfare oriented with highest personal integrity.     

Today you must have seen in news papers, about a clerk in GHMC caught with few crores wealth and he was getting posted into green pastures continuously with political support.  Can we offered to play this blame games even after claiming ourselves as matured democracy?

These type of incidents are creating more doubts in GHMC employees & public about their system and creating an imaginative situation of magnified siphoning. As Telugu speaking states are progressive thinking & ahead of others in technology, opportunity can be seen in present situation and clear public doubts. The top brass including successive commissioners shall be reviewed, declare their assets etc and ensure that the system is transparent and accountable.  I wish they successfully pass this acid test and keep up the image of Telugu states and set an example to country. 

"SWACHH HYDERABAD" will be role model for "SWACHH BHARAT"   

 BGR