JNM Journalist Hardeep Jamwal, Jammu
A deep rift has emerged between municipal employees and the administration following the Jammu Municipal Corporation’s initiation of the process to hand over sanitation management in Gandhi Nagar Zone-3 to a private agency. Strongly opposing this decision, the Municipal Workers Union has issued a warning: if the Corporation administration does not withdraw the privatization process, an indefinite strike will commence across the entire city of Jammu starting June 9.
The Municipal Corporation has issued tenders to outsource the sanitation management of the 26 wards falling under Gandhi Nagar Zone-3. These tenders are scheduled to be opened on June 15 and 16. The Union alleges that this move runs counter to the interests of permanent sanitation workers and will have a direct impact on their employment.
Rinku Gill, President of the Municipal Workers Union, stated that letters regarding this matter have been sent to Municipal Commissioner Dr. Devansh Yadav, Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar, Commissioner-Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department Mandeep Kaur, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, apprising them of the employees’ objections. He asserted that the employees would, under no circumstances, accept the NGO and contract-based systems being adopted by the Corporation administration.
The Union has also announced the roadmap for its agitation. Under this plan, demonstrations will be organized at the Town Hall in Jammu on June 6 and June 8. If the administration fails to withdraw its decision despite these protests, sanitation services across the entire city will be halted starting June 9. The Union maintains that this strike will continue until the Corporation administration cancels the tender process.
The employees point out that a similar attempt was made in 2024, but the administration was forced to back down due to widespread protests. The resumption of the same process has now sparked immense outrage among the employees.
It is noteworthy that sanitation workers had also staged a protest outside the Municipal Commissioner’s office on May 26. Employees allege that while, on one hand, they are working tirelessly with limited resources to keep the city clean, the municipal administration, on the other hand, is moving towards handing over the sanitation system to private entities.
The union leadership has made it clear that if the process of opening tenders proceeds on June 15–16, their agitation will be further intensified. The employees assert that if sanitation services in the city are disrupted and a garbage crisis ensues, the municipal administration will bear full responsibility for it.
All eyes are now fixed on the municipal administration’s next move. If a resolution is not reached between the two parties soon, Jammu city may once again face a sanitation crisis in the coming days.
