Thumbs down to auto trolleys by GHMC staff

Workers worried over additional burden of EMI and fuel costs

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation's (GHMC) proposal to introduce about 2,000 auto trolleys in the city is likely to be a major burden for sanitation workers.

The total cost of each auto trolley is Rs 4 lakh. Beneficiaries will have to pay 10 per cent (Rs 40,000) as principal amount if they fall under the SC category and 20 per cent (Rs 80,000) if they belong to the BC category.

Sanitation workers are worried that on one hand, their income will come down once auto trolleys are introduced and on the other, they will have to pay EMI to banks.

“At present, the workers are earning about Rs 6,000 as salaries and earn extra Rs 5,000 by selling plastic waste which we segregate from garbage. If we own an auto trolley, we will not only be burdened by the loan but will also lose income from selling plastic,” said Shekhar, a sanitation worker.

“We are now earning about Rs 5,000 per month from plastic waste. Under the new scheme, we will have to dump the entire dry and wet waste in the dumpyard,” he added.

According to Narsaiah, another sanitation worker, apart from the EMI they will have to spend about Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 per month on diesel.

“Our income will be less than what we will have to shell out. The GHMC proposes to allot about 800 houses to each sanitation worker and said that they can collect Rs 50 per household as fee for lifting dry and wet garbage. But even residents in posh areas like Jubilee Hills are not willing to pay Rs 50.

With great difficulty they pay Rs 30 to Rs 40 per month at present and in some other areas residents won't even pay a single rupee. Our financial situation would go from bad to worse, if we have to completely depend on the income from residents,” he lamented.

Workers opine that instead of introducing auto trolleys, it would be great if the State introduces another 5,000 tricycles in the Corporation limits.

By:Maddy Deekshith