Target: To kill 30 rats per night

The number of rats killed in Mumbai has increased in the past couple of years. But Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) says that the number of rats in the city has not increased, but the number of rats killed has. Officials from BMC say that the Island city area has 44 night rat killers, who have a target of 30 rats per night, and for some areas in eastern suburbs, the night rat killers are outsourced.

The officer said that the BMC wants to appoint night rat killers in eastern and western suburbs also in order to increase the number of rats killed. However, the officer also said instead of hiring rat killers, the corporation is planning to outsource totally so as to reduce the burden on BMC.

"The BMC at present has 137 rat killer, who are full time employees, but they do not have any set target. They handle complaints and do office work. However, night rat killers are marked present only if they kill 30 rats per night. They get paid only if they achieve their targets. That means, if any night rat killer does not kill 30 rats, his one day salary is deducted," the officer explained.

The night rat killers are paid in line with minimum pay scale of a BMC employee, which is around Rs 12,000.