The Hindu              06.01.2014

Solid waste management to be privatised in 21 wards in Salem

The City Municipal Corporation has decided to hire a private company to carry out solid waste management in 21 wards for a period of one year.

Of the total 60 wards, a private contractor was vested with the responsibility of carrying out solid waste management in 21 wards and the corporation maintains the rest 39 wards.

Due to poor implementation of work, the corporation terminated the contract with the private company in 2012 and the civic body carried out the work.

But lack of human resource and escalating wage bill led to tardy implementation of the work as residents complained of garbage not being removed, and choked drainage. Hence, in order to effective carry out the work, the civic body has decided to hand over the work to a private company for a period of one year.

The wards 2, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 45 have a total population of 2.77 lakh with 61,914 households, 11,386 shops, commercial establishments and 539 marriage halls and hotels generating about 200 metric tonne waste every day.

The length of the drain is about 220.03 k.m. and length of the streets is about 272.33 k.m. The contractor is vested with the responsibility of door-to-door collection of garbage, transporting it to waste treatment plant in Chettichavadi, silting of drains, sweeping of streets and roads.

Apart from this, the company should maintain cleanliness in important places like Collectorate, Government Hospital, bus stands and arterial roads.

Corporation officials said that 685 workers should be in place for the 21 wards, to carry out the work on daily basis. More than 50 per cent should be men.

The contractor should use 335 push carts for the work apart from tractors and compactors. Tender has been floated with bids to be opened on January 21, 2014, they added.