By Sunil Sonkar
Mussoorie, 30 Jan: Mussoorie Municipal Council Chairperson Meera Saklani, while speaking to reporters here, today, levelled serious allegations against former Municipal Chairperson Anuj Gupta and the KIN organisation. She said that during the previous term, the rights of sanitation workers were openly violated, and rules were disregarded to benefit favoured individuals. The allegations being made against the current board are completely misleading and baseless.
The Municipal Chairperson clearly stated that the recent strike by sanitation workers and KIN organisation employees was due to their being misled. The employees were told that the current municipal board was working against their interests and that a “game” was being played with the door-to-door waste collection company, while the truth is exactly the opposite. Meera Saklani explained that from 1 January 2025, the door-to-door waste collection work in Mussoorie has been awarded to Lord Shiva Company through a proper online tender process. A total of seven companies participated in this online tender process, while the KIN organisation did not participate at all. She said that all tenders exceeding Rs 25 lakh are mandatorily conducted online, but former Municipal Chairperson Anuj Gupta, for his personal gain, conducted offline tenders against the rules, which is completely wrong.
The Municipal Chairperson revealed that the KIN organisation showed a total of 169 employees on paper, out of which only 112 employees were brought under the ESI and PF schemes. The remaining employees were allegedly “adjusted”, but their existence is not visible on the ground. She said that previously, the KIN organisation was paid approximately Rs 10.30 lakh every month by the municipality, and the organisation showed 169 employees. To hide the corruption and accommodate their people, one supervisor was appointed for every three employees, who had no actual work.
Meera Saklani stated that currently, Lord Shiva Company is operating under a policy of equal pay for equal work. Previously, those favoured by the former chairman were being excluded from the system, which is why the atmosphere was being poisoned and employees were being incited. She explained that during the previous term, sanitation workers were paid only Rs 8,000 per month, even though in 2022, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had announced a daily wage of Rs 500, which was deliberately not implemented. After becoming the Municipal Chairperson, she prioritised implementing the Chief Minister’s announcement. Now, sanitation workers will receive a monthly salary of over Rs 17,000, along with full ESI and PF benefits. Meera Saklani alleged that the previous municipal board hastily inaugurated a biomethane plant near the IDH MRF centre at a cost of approximately Rs 1.5 crore, but the plant never became operational. Currently, it is in a dilapidated state, pointing to a major scam. She said that the previous board wrongly pushed the sanitation workers employed by the neighbourhood committees into a contract system. A proposal will be brought before the upcoming board meeting to rectify this, and once passed, 25 neighbourhood committee employees will be reinstated. The Municipal Chairperson clearly stated that the municipality does not want to take away anyone’s job, but rules are paramount. Lord Shiva Company has also been warned that if it does not comply with the rules or disregards the interests of the employees, it too can be removed. She said that the current board is working with complete transparency and according to the rules. And the scams that occurred in the past will be presented to the public on an open platform with all the evidence.
Councillors Vishal Kharola, Sachin Guher, Gauri Thapliyal, Amit Bhatt, Shivani Bharti, Ranbir Kandari, and Pawan Thalwal were present on this occasion.
