Pune, 8 July 2025: Pune Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram conducted a surprise inspection in the Warje area on Monday morning, where he was shocked to see roads littered with garbage and no staff in sight cleaning them. The visit, made without informing local officials, exposed deep-rooted inefficiencies in the city’s sanitation system and triggered a frantic clean up response.
Reports suggest that over 40% of Pune’s street-cleaning workforce is absent on duty, with many workers drawing salaries without actually reporting for work. This ongoing problem had earlier been exposed by local media and brought to the Commissioner’s attention. Despite heavy municipal spending on cleanliness and waste management, public spaces continue to suffer from poor upkeep.
The civic body recently launched a city-wide cleanliness campaign, led by Ram and District Collector Jitendra Dudi, who jointly inspected several areas last week. But the Warje incident highlighted how temporary efforts fail to bring about consistent sanitation, especially without strict enforcement and accountability.
“During my visit to Warje, I didn’t see a single person sweeping the streets. Garbage was lying around. Only after I informed the officials did they start cleaning up,” Ram told reporters. He stressed that while PMC allocates significant funds for cleanliness, these are often misused or inefficiently spent, and action would be taken against those subcontracting work despite being on payroll.
Adding to the shake-up, the Commissioner rejected a ₹55 crore proposal meant for repairing 80 garbage transport vehicles. Questioning the unusually high cost, Ram emphasized that public money must be spent judiciously and reforms are underway to bring discipline and transparency in civic operations.
