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Sanitary work in 18 wards privatised

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The Hindu        05.11.2014 

Sanitary work in 18 wards privatised

Minister launches outsourcing arrangement on the corporation premises

Almost a year after the City Corporation Council gave its nod for engaging private contractors to carry out sanitary operations and solid waste management in 18 wards in the city, a Chennai-based private firm has began the operation.

It lined up its men and imported machines when the Minister for Khadi and Village Industries T.P. Poonachi formally launched the outsourcing arrangement on the corporation premises here on Tuesday in the presence of A. Jaya, Mayor and R. Manoharan, Chief Whip.

As per the arrangement, Srinivas Waste Management Services Private Ltd, will employ its employees in garbage collection and cleaning operations in 18 wards - 1 ward in Srirangam zone, six in Ariyamangalam zone, seven in Golden Rock zone, and three in K. Abishekapuram zone besides Central and Chathram bus stands and Gandhi Market in the city.

It has to employ at least 339 workers.

The agency will have to carry out the task of primary collection of garbage, segregation at source into degradable and non-degradable, transport them to corporation dump yards, sweep streets and clean stormwater drains.

V.P. Thandapani, Commissioner, Tiruchi Corporation, told The Hindu that the outsourcing arrangement would cover 77,262 households, Gandhi market and Central and Chathiram bus stands in an area of 50 square km. It was estimated that the firm would handle about 125 metric tonne of garbage daily. It would be segregated into degradable and non-degradable. It would clear about 15 metric tonne of garbage in Gandhi market and two-bus stands alone. A “foolproof arrangement” had been made to measure the garbage collection.

He said that the Corporation would pay Rs.1403 per tonne for garbage collection. The rate was arrived at based on tender process. The arrangement was made basically due to shortage of manpower for solid waste management. As a result, sanitary workers in the 18 wards would be redeployed in other wards for better management.

S. Vengateswaran, General Manager (Operations), SWMS, said it had imported 6 compactor vehicles, 1 hook loader vehicle, and a storm water cleaning crane from Germany. It would place 500 compactor bins and 350 push carts in different parts of 18 wards.

Uniformed-workers would be engaged in door-to-door garbage collection. A software installed with the computers of Corporation would enable it to monitor the garbage cleaning activities effectively.