Gurgaon: Even as MCG faces mounting criticism over the performance of its six-month door-to-door waste collection contracts, the civic body has moved to award yet another short-term sanitation contract — this time for mechanised road sweeping.On Friday, MCG initiated the process to hire an agency for mechanised road sweeping across the city for six months at an estimated cost of Rs 2.8 crore, extending its reliance on temporary arrangements for another key civic service.Under the contract, the agency will provide five sweeping machines for the city and manage its operations and maintenance. The city currently has 20 sweeping machines of its own, and 10 more are required. Five machines are being taken from other municipal corporations, and the remaining five will be taken from a private agency, officials said.The decision comes amid growing questions over its continued preference for stopgap contracts instead of long-term arrangements. Residents and councillors have repeatedly flagged the short duration of sanitation contracts, arguing they compromise accountability and allow recurring disruptions in essential services.When asked, MCG additional commissioner Ravinder Yadav said, “We have blacklisted the agencies with a shortfall of vehicles. For the new six-month contract of sweeping machines, we will ensure the proper monitoring of the vehicles.” For the five machines borrowed from other municipal corporations, the civic body has floated another tender for their operation and maintenance.Earlier this month, after failing to attract bidders for the outsourcing of 15 mechanised sweeping machines, MCG decided to change its procurement strategy and hire the machines on a zone-wise basis instead. Earlier, it floated two tenders to outsource 15 mechanised sweeping machines, along with their operation and maintenance, for six months. Following the failed bidding process, the civic body now plans to appoint separate agencies for each of its eight zones, with each agency providing one or two sweeping machines.
