GHMC move for better sanitation

​Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is contemplating to amend the GHMC Act and create an environmental wing which would be responsible for sanitation works under the corporation limits.

The work which was so far being done by the assistant medical officers of health (AMOHs) will now be transferred to the environmental engineers in all 24 circles. According to GHMC officials, the corporation is planning to restrict the role of AMOHs for issuing birth and death certificates, trade licences and conducting health check-up of sanitation workers.

As of now, persons holding a Diploma in Public Health along with an MBBS degree are eligible for recruitment as medical officers of health by civic bodies. The AMOHs are responsible for checking the outbreak of epidemics like diarrhoea, issue of birth and death certificates, trade licences and food contamination apart from overseeing sanitation works. Every municipal circle has an AMOH in-charge of health and sanitation works.

Sources said the corporation had recently recruited 139 engineers. Of them, only 60 per cent had joined duty and the remaining would be joining soon. Under the new proposal, about two engineers would be attached to AMOHs to work under them for a period of six months under training to learn how to analyse the amount of garbage produced in the city and logistics of transporting it.

The environmental engineers would have complete information about the types of garbage, the quantity of garbage generated and will implement effective methods to clear the garbage.

A senior GHMC official told The Hans India that it was observed that many AMOHs working with the corporation had been facing several allegations of corruption from both the public and the authorities.

“For instance, the GHMC has suspended an AMOH and handed him over to his parent department in January this year.”

Similarly, there are several allegations that field assistants have been forcibly acquiring ATM cards of sanitation workers and illegally drawing their salaries. Besides this, the sanitary field assistants had been maintaining fake attendance registers, resulting in leakage of crores of rupees to the corporation, the official said.

He said many AMOHs were still continuing in their post even though no extension orders were given by either the corporation or the State government.