HC chides civic body for outsourcing sanitation

The Telangana High Court faulted the GHMC for outsourcing workers for posts like sanitary supervisors (SFA), sanitation workers, entomology fieldworkers, entomology superior fieldworkers, supervisors (EFA), superior field assistants through intermediaries, agencies and contractors, abandoning the hiring of regular workers for decades together.

Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao observed that the “outsourcing basis” method is contrary to the law, violative of Article 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution of India and also the law declared by the Supreme Court in the State of Karnataka and

Others vs. Uma Devi and Others judgement, mandating periodic regular recruitment to sanctioned posts.

“The outsourcing system adopted by the GHMC is only a sham and a ruse to avoid extending genuine services and entitlements to workers,” Justice Rao opined.

The court observed that outsourcing workers who are working with GHMC in the sanitisation and entolmology departments since 2008, after they were selected based on the prescribed norms of notification, are entitled to regularisation.

The High Court directed the civic body to consider the regularisation of their services within two months.

The judge was dealing with a petition by 98 outsourced GHMC workers who have been working for around two decades, requesting it to direct the civic authority to regularise their services and to pay them the minimum scale on par with the regular of employees of the same cadre.

They mentioned that they were engaged with the same work as the regular employees for decades now.

The High Court directed the civic body to consider the regularisation of their services within two months.