MCG establishing panels for Gurugram Cleanliness & Waste Management
Balpreet Singh, additional commissioner of MCG, stated that committees comprising five members would be established in each of the four zones. He mentioned that these committees would be overseen by MCG Joint Commissioners, with the remaining four members comprising two women and two men. Applicants interested in joining the zone-wise citizen supervisory committees were instructed to submit recommendations from at least ten citizens from their respective zones by May 22, via email at jcsbm@mcg.gov.in. Singh emphasised that this initiative aimed to hold residents accountable for the cleanliness and sanitation of their areas.
Gurugram's cleanliness had notably declined over the past year, as reported by the Swachh Survekshan Survey 2023, an annual assessment conducted by the central government. Gurugram ranked 140th out of 446 urban local bodies with populations exceeding 100,000 people.
Officials stated that the decision to establish these committees was prompted by numerous requests from Residents' Welfare Associations (RWAs) to involve them in monitoring daily cleanliness and waste management issues in their neighbourhoods.
On April 23, representatives from 40 RWAs in Gurugram convened with Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav to highlight their concerns regarding sanitation, cleanliness, and the lack of funding from MCG for park maintenance.
Kusum Sharma, a resident of Suncity Township in Sector 54 and a member of the citizen monitoring committee, expressed optimism about addressing issues on a zone-wise basis. She believed that the committees would facilitate issue resolution, with members actively overseeing their respective areas to ensure proper functioning of private agencies and daily waste collection, as well as cleanliness maintenance.