Duty-skipping civic workers to face layoffs: Krishna Byre Gowda

The Karnataka State Municipal Workers’ Union says the minister’s remarks reflected a feudal mindset and his behavior should be condemned by the public. | Photo credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J.

Civic workers who are habitually absent from duty will face dismissal from service, Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said on Saturday.

After a meeting with MPs, MLAs and MLCs on civic issues at the Vidhana Soudha, Mr. Gowda said that nearly 30% of the civic workers deployed at various places do not report for duty regularly.

“Three notices will be issued to employees who fail to report for duty. If they do not respond to the notices, action will be initiated to dismiss them from service as per rules,” he said.

Mr. Gowda said door-to-door garbage collection is the primary responsibility of civic workers and the absence is directly contributing to new black spots on garbage.

“If 30% of civic workers don’t report to work every day, how can we keep the city clean?” he asked.

New waste management plan

A total of 33 waste management packages were formulated, of which 21 were approved. The process of issuing work orders to contractors is in full swing and they have been directed to start operations within two months, Mr. Gowda said.

Under the new system, the existing automatic tippers with a capacity of around one tonne will be replaced by vehicles capable of transporting three tonnes of waste. GPS tracking will be mandatory, with each vehicle assigned a designated route to follow each day.

“The city currently has the capacity to collect around 5,200 tons of waste per day. Under the new system, this capacity will increase to around 9,000 tons per day,” said the minister.

He emphasized that every household will have its waste collected at its doorstep, and those who are unable to drop off their waste at the designated time can keep their garbage bags on their wall or grill, from where collection workers will pick them up.

Mr. Gowda said a public awareness campaign would be launched to make citizens aware of the new waste disposal system.

Meanwhile, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has hired contractors to remove abandoned and unused vehicles from public spaces. The minister called on elected representatives to monitor the process in their areas and report problems to officials. He also asked local representatives to monitor garbage removal and cleaning of private vacant lots.

Union condemns

However, the Karnataka State Municipal Workers Union condemned Mr. Gowda’s remarks about 30% absenteeism. The unions argued that such remarks reflected a feudal mindset and said the minister’s behavior should be condemned by the public.

“If this is the case (absenteeism), what are the supervisors doing? Action should be taken against those who are not working. Instead, it is not right to make remarks that offend everyone,” said Syed Mujeeb, general secretary of the union.

The statement said the minister should not turn allegations of individual dereliction of duty into collective humiliation.

Published – 05 Sep 2026 21:29 IST