Taking a cue from Chennai, Bengaluru is exploring the idea of rebooting its inefficient waste collection system — controlled by the 'garbage mafia' — by engaging large firms for the purpose.
But moving to the Chennai model is bound to ruffle many feathers as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) existing waste collection system, costing over Rs 600 crore a year, is run by nearly a hundred smaller firms, some of whom are very close to political leaders.
Sources close to Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said he had held several meetings on the matter and is said to have discussed the Chennai model when Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was in Bengaluru last week.
In neighbouring Chennai, the entire responsibility of collecting and transporting garbage in most parts of the city has been given to just two firms — Hyderabad-based Ramky Enviro Ltd and Spanish firm Urbaser S A. They are also tasked with cleaning roads using mechanical sweepers.
On the other hand, the BBMP has roped in a large number of small firms to collect and transport waste, dividing the responsibility based on wards.
It had recently floated tenders, which saw the participation of over 300 contractors for a similar work divided into 89 contracts. Besides, the secondary transportation of waste to processing plants and landfill sites is handed over to different firms that are not involved in primary collection. Construction debris is collected separately, and so is the operation of mechanical sweepers.
It has been learnt that a few BBMP officers visited Chennai to study the merits and demerits of engaging large firms for the collection of garbage.
On the upside, the BBMP can hold large firms accountable whenever open garbage blackspots are seen. On the downside, there is a concern about big firms monopolising the sector and economically weaker sections involved in garbage collection losing their livelihood.
The present system is rife with problems and needs reform.
Prominent among them is the lack of a mechanism to complain about the irregular collection of garbage; there is also a lack of access to information on how many auto tippers have been deployed in a ward on a daily basis. The civic body has also been paying the contractors late by three to five months.
Sandhya Narayan, a member of the Solid Waste Management Roundtable, said any reform was welcome but the Chennai model was not fool-proof.
"It should not be a cosmetic effort where the big companies hire existing firms as sub-contractors," she said, recalling a similar failed attempt a decade ago.