MCG has decided to end contracts of nine private agencies handling construction and demolition waste collection citing substandard performance. The mounting complaints on uncollected waste prompted the decision, according to an official.
Among these agencies, only one received payment of Rs 50 lakh for waste collection from specified locations. MCG has now proposed a new initiative to collect approximately 5 lakh metric tonnes of construction waste scattered across city roads and public spaces, with an estimated cost of Rs 9 crore.
Although the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department was meant to create guidelines for hiring a private agency for debris management, they are yet to deliver. Consequently, the civic body initiated its own process after obtaining the commissioner’s approval to tackle the increasing demolition waste accumulation across the city.”The file to cancel the contract of all nine agencies has been put up since they failed to perform their duties.
There is no room for inefficiency. However, we would need a company for construction waste management, due to which we have made another proposal to lift around 5 lakh metric tonnes of trash from the city. We are still waiting for a request for proposal (RFP) from the ULB department. Meanwhile, we have made this proposal, which is sent to the MCG commissioner for his approval.
Our idea is that the city’s construction waste should be disposed of at a designated site so that residents don’t have to face any inconvenience,” said MCG executive engineer (Swachh Bharat Mission) Nijesh Kumar.
The demolition waste management rules from 2016 require garbage generators to maintain trash within their premises or deliver it to authorised collection centres or processing facilities. Local authorities are responsible for waste transportation to suitable processing and disposal sites, either independently or through private operators.
Currently, the Basai facility processes 300 metric tonnes of construction waste daily, with collection limited to a 15km radius around the plant.
“I have so far complained around 50 times on several platforms about illegal C&D waste dumping regularly happening behind my house on a large parcel of vacant land. However, no action is taken. I have received calls from the authorities. However, they failed to curb the illegal dumping. Before I left for work Monday, trucks with construction waste started dumping it at around 6:30 am. There is no stop to that despite complaining several times,” said Rahul Gupta, a resident of Saraswati Kunj.
