Haryana: Government to Hold Talks with Striking Civic Employees; 12,000 Tons of garbage rotting on Streets

May 13, 2026

Garbage has been rotting on the streets of Haryana for 12 days. Plagued by the filth and stench, residents are now on the verge of falling ill. Consequently, the Minister for Urban Local Bodies, Vipul Goel, has summoned the striking employees for talks.

The dialogue is scheduled to take place at Haryana Niwas in Chandigarh, in the presence of senior officials from the Urban Local Bodies Department. The Minister has already arrived at Haryana Niwas. Joining the talks alongside the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Rajesh Khullar, the Commissioner and Secretary of the Haryana Revenue and Disaster Management Department Dr. Sunita Mishra, and the Commissioner and Secretary of the Urban Local Bodies Department Ashok Meena, will be Naresh Shastri, the State President of the Haryana Municipal Employees Union.

Currently, approximately 12,000 tons of garbage lie strewn across the state’s roads. The strike by sanitation workers has also disrupted the ongoing Swachh Survekshan (Cleanliness Survey) activities.

Naresh Shastri, State President of the Haryana Municipal Employees Union, stated that during the meeting, the grievances of fire brigade personnel, who have been on strike for over a month, will be presented forcefully. The pending demands of the municipal employees will also be raised. “We have been receiving assurances for a long time, but this strike will now be called off only after a concrete solution is reached,” he asserted.

Wednesday has been designated as the scheduled time for the dialogue with the Haryana Municipal Employees Union. It is hoped that this meeting, to be held in the presence of the Urban Local Bodies Minister, will yield positive results.