Gurgaon's sanitation services have been severely disrupted as Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) sanitation workers launched an indefinite strike, effective until May 7, raising the risk of mounting waste across the city. Road sweeping and waste clearance remain halted, with workers staging a protest at the old MCG office on Tuesday. They accused the Haryana government of ignoring their 19-point charter of demands despite three rounds of discussions.
Protest and Demands
After submitting a memorandum to Mayor Raj Rani Malhotra at her Civil Lines residence, union members stated that the strike began following an inconclusive meeting with Ashok Meena, commissioner and secretary of the urban local bodies department, on April 30. Workers suspended operations and launched the protest, affecting routine sanitation services and increasing concerns over garbage accumulation in several areas.
A key demand is the regularisation of contractual sanitation employees. Union leaders warned that if the government fails to address their demands promptly, the Sarv Karamchari Sangh Haryana may expand the agitation and mobilise support from municipal and fire department employees across the state. They alleged that contract workers have been exploited for 15-20 years without any regularisation policy.
Salary and Regularisation Issues
Sushila Devi, state co-secretary of the union, addressed protesting workers, stating: "In November 2024, at the Pragatdivas of Maharishi Valmiki ji in Jind, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Minister Krishna Bedi announced a salary of Rs 26,000 for rural sanitation workers and Rs 27,000 for urban sanitation workers; however, no salary increase has been implemented to date."
Basant Kumar, president of the Gurgaon unit of the union, added: "On February 8, 2023, under pressure from the agitation, the government issued a letter to regularise payroll employees, stating that a committee would be formed to regularise contractual employees. However, the BJP government has not fully implemented it to date and has not regularised a single sanitation or sewer man employee during its 11-year tenure."
He emphasised that if the government had accepted legitimate demands—including martyr status and Rs 1 crore assistance for deceased fire department employees, government jobs, and other demands—the strike would not have been extended.
Residents' Concerns
Residents report that the strike has worsened the city's already substandard sanitation. Bhawani Shankar Tripathy, a resident of Sector 23A, said: "The situation has worsened with the strike of sanitation workers. Besides dumping on the roadsides, even vacant plots are littered with garbage and overgrown with weeds, a job of the sanitation workers that is being neglected."
MCG's additional commissioner Ravinder Yadav commented: "The workers' concerns and demands pertain to state-level matters. We have held multiple rounds of discussions with them, but the issues must ultimately be addressed by the state government. At present, sanitation services are being managed through workers outsourced via private agencies. We will continue to assess the situation and respond accordingly as it evolves."
The strike is likely to extend beyond May 7 if demands are not met, posing a continued threat to public health and hygiene in Gurgaon.
