Erode Corporation extends DBC workers’ services by six months

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A worker checking for mosquitoes in the water of an underground tank at Surampatti Valasu in Erode, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement.

With the northeast monsoon approaching, the Erode City Municipal Corporation has extended the services of 436 part-time Domestic Breeding Checkers (DBCs) and 12 supervisors by six months and allocated ₹3.97 crore towards their wages and statutory benefits.

According to the 2011 Census, Erode city covers 109.52 sq. km. and has a population of 4.98 lakh. It has 60 wards spread across four zones, with 1,69,912 residential properties and 27,386 commercial establishments. While more than 1,200 conservancy workers are engaged in daily solid waste management, part-time DBCs are deployed ahead of the monsoon to intensify anti-dengue measures.

The DBCs visit households to identify and eliminate breeding sources of Aedes aegypti , the mosquito that transmits dengue. They educate residents on preventing water stagnation in discarded tyres, broken articles and unused containers and, where necessary, apply mosquito repellents in and around houses. Each DBC is required to cover 50 households a day, six days a week, for four hours a day. Three supervisors in each zone monitor their work.

The civic body had engaged 436 part-time DBCs whose contract ended on August 31. Their services have now been extended until February 28, 2027, in view of the rainy season and the need for continued mosquito-control measures. The workers are engaged through an agency and paid ₹384 a day. The Corporation also bears 13% towards EPF, 3.25% towards ESI, 6.8% as service charges and 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The allocation is ₹96.69 lakh for Zone 1, covering 106 workers and three supervisors; ₹98.42 lakh for Zone 2, covering 108 workers and three supervisors; ₹1.07 crore for Zone 3, covering 118 workers and three supervisors; and ₹95.05 lakh for Zone 4, covering 104 workers and three supervisors. A senior health official told The Hindu that the services were essential ahead of the monsoon and could be extended further based on requirements.

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