Workers protest; Ramky’s contract remains paperwork
GHMC sanitation workers opposed proposed privatisation of door-to-door waste collection. The contract said to be behind it is still not publicly established.
The proposed door-to-door waste-collection arrangement has not been publicly established through an order, tender or work order.
Hyderabad’s sanitation workers took their protest to the Assembly gates. The Congress government’s proposed shift to private door-to-door waste collection has triggered opposition from GHMC sanitation and Swachh Auto workers, who fear losing income and control over work. Police detained protesters during the September 12–13 demonstrations, according to two reports. (Telangana Today)
Workers have alleged that Ramky is being brought in and that garbage charges could be recovered through property tax. But the government order, tender or work order has not been published in the material reviewed. So Ramky’s role in Hyderabad’s wider waste-management system is documented; its alleged award of the current door-to-door contract is not. (GHMC document)
The workers’ fear is not invented from thin air. GHMC’s Swachh Auto model allocated vehicles to beneficiaries, with the corporation paying the dealer’s EMI for six years before ownership passed to the operator, according to a 2022 academic account. (ResearchGate paper)
One unnamed worker also alleged that protesters held at LB Stadium were served late, poor-quality food. That account has not been independently verified. GHMC and the Congress government have yet to publish the order that would show whether this is a contract, a proposal or merely another item in the municipal suspense file.