Ahmedabad: In November last year, Gandhinagar became, on paper at least, the second city in the state after a letter using a robot to clean the hole.
However, one year, both Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the Urban Development Department have records of use of robots to clean holes.
In November 2020, Nitin Patel – Deputy Chief Minister at the time – had operated a robot and had placed it in the GMC service.
Patel said that robots can clean the manil up to 8.5 m.
Recently a RTI activist based in Ahmedabad, Yash Makwana, submitted a RTI application with an urban development department and seeks details about the use and maintenance of robots.
He also wants to know how many got a robot cleaned.
In his letter to Makwana, the urban development department stated that the application had been forwarded to GMC because it was in corporate jurisdiction.
But GMC sends the application to the department of sanitation, argues that all queries are in the department’s remittance.
The GMC sanitation department in turn said that he did not have information about the use of robots.
A GMC official said: “The robot has been referred to by Sabarmati Gas Company to the State Government Capital Project Department that oversees Gandhinagar’s work.” The official added: “Therefore it is technically not in GMC jurisdiction.
Therefore, we do not have any information.” “I have information that sanitation workers have no choice but to enter the hole to clean it,” Makwana said.
“Our group has given memorandum to collectors, but there is no solution found.” He went on to say: “So I submitted a RTI application.
The corporation said that it did not have a note.” Makwana said that if the robot was in the jurisdiction of the capital project department, the application should be transferred to the department.