PUNE:Gurugram, India-June 27, 2024: An MCG jcb machine cleaning the garbage at civil line area near Deputy commissioner residence, in Gurugram, India, on Thursday, 27 June 2024. (Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)(Pic to go with Debashish Karmakar's story)Several Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) corporators on Monday questioned the functioning of non-governmental organisation SWaCH and demanded a performance audit, citing complaints from citizens related to waste collection, overcharging of residents, and continued presence of garbage hotspots across the city.During the PMC general body meeting, corporators questioned why the civic administration hasn’t reviewed SWaCH’s performance despite complaints from citizens. Allegedly, SWaCH workers have been demanding additional money from residents while garbage accumulation has continued unabated in many areas despite door-to-door collection services.The PMC had appointed SWaCH on a pilot basis in the Kasba Peth constituency to eliminate chronic garbage spots and ensure 100% segregated door-to-door waste collection. The civic body had allocated ₹3 crore for the initiative, ₹1.09 crore out of which had already been released to the organisation.Corporator Kunal Tilak, who had raised a query with the administration, expressed dissatisfaction over the response. Corporators Raghvendra Mankar, Swarda Bapat and Aishwarya Thorat also questioned the effectiveness of the initiative.“If SWaCH workers are collecting waste from every household, why do garbage hotspots continue to exist? The administration had said that the organisation’s performance would be reviewed after three months, but no evaluation has been carried out so far,” Tilak said.Bapat alleged that residents are being asked to pay additional charges despite the PMC supporting the organisation. “Even after receiving subsidies, the garbage issue remains unresolved. Why is the PMC administration continuing to support SWaCH despite concerns over its performance?” she asked.Responding to the concerns, deputy municipal commissioner Santosh Warule said that the pilot project has been extended by two months and that a formal review is yet to be carried out. “The extension was granted based on the organisation’s previous performance,” Warule said, leading to objections from corporators.Additional municipal commissioner Prajit Nair later clarified that SWaCH is authorised to collect user charges from residents as per rates approved by the PMC.“SWaCH workers are permitted to collect charges from citizens according to PMC-approved rates. Their earnings are limited and they also work on Sundays for which, they receive an additional payment of ₹25,” Nair said.