Unpaid for 3 Months, 155 AMC Sanitation Supervisors Storm Civic Headquarters as Debt Mounts
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Over 155 outsourced sanitation supervisors working under the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) stormed the civic body's headquarters on Tuesday, protesting against non-payment of wages for three consecutive months. The workers, employed through private firm D.G. Nakrani, revealed they have been forced to take high-interest private loans just to pay school fees, buy fuel for daily rounds, and cover basic household expenses.
Daily Petrol Costs Out of Pocket While Wages Remain Frozen
The AMC contracted D.G. Nakrani to oversee citywide sanitation monitoring, employing around 155 supervisors at a fixed monthly salary of ₹14,500 each. Despite fulfilling their daily field duties—using their own money to fund petrol for visiting various municipal wards—workers have not received a single rupee since May.
Protesting workers voiced deep anger over the agency's evasive stance. Whenever they approach the contractor for their dues, the agency shifts the blame back onto the municipality, claiming wages will only be released once the AMC clears its pending corporate bills.
Families Driven to High-Interest Loans to Survive
The prolonged salary delay has pushed scores of families into severe financial distress. Striking supervisors highlighted that without their monthly earnings, managing basic kitchen expenses, settling school fees for their children, and paying off bank installments has become impossible without borrowing money at exorbitant interest rates.
The affected staff demanded that the AMC administration step in directly, bypass agency excuses, and ensure immediate disbursement of their three-month arrears.
Second Major Wage Scandal Hits AMC Within Days
The protest marks the second major outsourcing controversy to hit the AMC in less than two weeks. Just last week, a similar wage dispute broke out within the city's BRTS bus network after contractors failed to pay transit staff. In that instance, senior civic officials had to intervene, promising immediate wage releases and suspending a supervisor involved in the management dispute.
Coming on the heels of the BRTS stir, this fresh standoff with sanitation supervisors raises sharp questions about the AMC's oversight of private contractors holding multi-crore municipal tenders.
