The dispute between the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) has highlighted what appears to be overlapping responsibilities between stakeholders — the NEA, hawkers’ associations and town councils — in the management of hawker centres.

In a parliamentary reply given by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan in February, it was revealed that the NEA currently manages the cleaning contracts for 25 hawker centres directly, while the respective town councils and hawkers’ associations manage the cleaning contracts for the remaining 82 hawker centres.

It is not clear from the accounts of the dispute whether the hawkers’ association at Block 538 called for a separate cleaning quotation, and why they would do this since the town council is in charge of the spring cleaning of hawker centres.

It would thus be timely for the NEA to explain why the cleaning contracts for all hawker centres and their relevant arrangements have not been brought under one organisation. Having one organisation take charge would help make each party’s roles clear and minimise the occurrence of such disputes.

It is also regrettable that both the NEA and the AHPETC allowed the dispute to drag on. With the alarming rise in the number of dengue cases, both parties could have directed their energies towards eradicating more mosquito-breeding sites.