"The municipal commissioner of HMC is required to submit the list of sweepers and specify the religion of each sweeper in the list," the order, given by the divisional bench comprising justice Mehmood A Khan and justice Khadim Hussain Tunio here Wednesday, read.
The order came in a petition filed by a citizen Muhammad Rizwan. The petitioner complained that heaps of garbage were scattered on the roads and plots in many areas of Hyderabad and drainage problems.
He added that the situation was creating health problems for the citizens besides depriving the city of its cleanliness.
During the hearing Rizwan's counsel advocate Muhammad Arshad S Pathan contended that the root cause of the HMC's failure in maintaining cleanliness was the appointment of Muslims as sweepers. He alleged that the Muslim sanitary workers did not join their duty on a regular basis.
The court fixed the next hearing on March 1.