The Indian Express   06.08.2012

Hands tied, BMC renewed contract of company that wanted to opt out

Since June, the streets of the country’s financial capital have raised a stink like never before, owing to garbage collection operations being severely hit. Even as residents and office-goers in Dadar, Parel, Worli, Bhandup Mulund and Ghatkopar have been promised respite with new contracts kicking in, it is increasingly clear that civic administration had been forewarned of an impending near-collapse of the garbage collection system in the city.

Of the various private contactors who handle the garbage collection in the city, the JV Partners, Antony Waste Handling Cell and Antony Garage Ltd handle 10 of the total 24 wards of the city. Of the total fleet of 677 large compactors, mini compactors and small closed vehicles used for garbage collection by all private contractors, a whopping 42 per cent belong to Antony Waste Handling Cell.

The firm, which handles over 50 per cent of the total waste collection in the city, had informed the BMC in March this year of their inability to renew the contracts after its term ends in May. However, the civic administration, which was forced to renew the old contracts for six months as the new contracts were not yet in place, renewed Antony Waste Handling Cell’s contract as well.

Rahul Shewale, BMC standing committee chairman and Shiv Sena corporator, said, “It was a gross mistake on the part of the civic administration as they failed to have a contingency plan despite the contractor warning them of his inability to continue the next contract.”

Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani said, “The company has a financial problem and owes the BMC heavy penalty amount. It was the lack of professionalism on the part of the company in carrying out the garbage collection work which affected the residents in many areas”.

“The fact that the BMC is not able to procure the optimum number of compactors coupled with the fact that it was this one company, Antony Waste Handling Cell, which had the majority of the wards under them led to poor garbage collection in certain areas,” said Adtani.

Siju Antony, director, Antony Waste Handling Cell said, “I was not interested in continuing with the garbage collection contracts after the old contract term ended in May as we are already handling the Kanjurmarg dumping project and it would not be fair to handle both projects. Also, the company is under financial stress and it would help ease the burden.”

Changing Grounds

The city generates around 6,500 metric tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and an additional 2,000-2,500 metric tonnes of construction waste (debris and silt).

At present, the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, which has been partially opened, receives 500 metric tonnes of garbage. Mulund receives 1,000-1,500 metric tonnes of garbage and Deonar (left) receives the remaining chunk of 5,500 metric tonnes of MSW, said officials at the BMC Solid Waste Management Department.

SWM chief engineer Shekhar Chitale said the Kanjurmarg scientific dumping ground would be ready by the year-end. Along with this will begin the partial closure of the 128-hectare-large Deonar dumping ground (slated since 2009) and the 26-hectare-large Mulund dumping ground (slated since 2010).

FROM DOORSTEP TO LANDFILL

Every housing society appoints a garbage collector to carry out its door-to-door collection. This collected waste is then handed over to the municipal corporation’s garbage collection vehicles

The vehicles begin their journey every day at 7am when they report to Motor Loader (ML) Chowks present in each ward. At the chowk, every vehicle’s attendance is recorded

There are 3,800 collection points in the city. The residential society’s appointed door-to-door collector hands over the society’s garbage to the collection vehicles after which the transport reaches the ward’s check post

Garbage collected from slum areas through community based organisations under the slum adoption scheme is deposited into the nearby community waste bins which are emptied into the collection vehicles as well. At present, jointly the BMC has installed 5,800 community bins and dustbins across the city. One tempo travels the ward for collection of dry waste which is then sold off to agencies associated with the BMC

Smaller collection vans are dispatched to the four transfer stations located at Mahalakshmi (with a capacity for transferring 750 metric tonnes of waste), Kurla (700 metric tonnes), Versova (350 metric tonnes), and Gorai (250 metric tonnes) where the garbage is loaded onto bigger vehicles

Bigger collection vehicles such as compactors, and hook leaf containers, are sent directly to the three dump yards at Deonar, Kanjurmarg, and Mulund. On reaching the grounds, authorities at the site weigh the vehicles and log in the vehicle’s attendance. The vehicles wait in a queue and are let into the grounds in a single file to offload the waste at the designated spot.

Residents cry foul

“Garbage collection has been a problem even before June. Vehicles were irregular right from March or earlier, the vehicles would come every alternate day or so,” said Vijaya Dange, a resident of Bhandup who has been complaining to ward officials incessantly to no avail. Selma Lobo, a resident of Nahur, the problem was especially bad during the de-silting of the nallahs carried out by the BMC Stormwater Drains Department. “They would clean up the gutters and leave the waste on the side of the road. Even before June the garbage vans have been coming only twice or thrice in a week,” said Lobo.