MCD issues tenders issued for ₹3.3K cr waste mgmt contracts

MCD will spend an estimated ₹933 crore for a seven-year contract in the Central zone, ₹1,123 crore in the West zone, and ₹1,180 crore in the South zone

Relief from garbage mismanagement in Delhi’s Central, South and West zones is unlikely for at least another four to five months even as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has initiated bidding for new waste management contracts worth ₹3,326 crore, senior municipal officials said.

HT had reported on August 25 that these three zones were struggling with garbage collection (HT Archive)

These three zones, covering nearly 70 of the city’s 250 municipal wards and home to about 30 lakh residents, have been grappling with a waste crisis since the expiry of contracts with previous operators. New concessionaires are yet to be appointed.

According to officials, the MCD will spend an estimated ₹933 crore for a seven-year contract in the Central zone, ₹1,123 crore in the West zone, and ₹1,180 crore in the South zone. “The pre-bid meeting will be held on September 25 and technical bids will be opened October 17. Even if the process is expedited, it will take a couple of months for the new operators to deploy the new machinery and personnel on ground. We are hoping that the situation will be normalised in 4–5 months,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

HT had reported on August 25 that these three zones were struggling with garbage collection. Waste collection and transportation in 12 MCD zones is outsourced to private operators under long-term contracts. In the Central zone, the decade-long contract expired in 2022, and despite two extensions, the tendering process stalled due to the non-formation of the standing committee.

“As an interim measure, we have deployed the contractor for six months but they do not have enough equipment. For a six-month period, the contractor can also not be expected to deploy resources meant for 10 years,” an MCD official said, adding that resources were being borrowed from other zones.

Standing committee member and former Central zone chairman Rajpal criticised the interim arrangements. “The contractors deployed do not have enough bins for dhalaos, compactors and hook loaders. These conditions were not specified in the tender and the people of Delhi are being made to suffer because of this fault. In my area alone, the number of auto tippers has gone down from 18 to five and the whole collection system has collapsed,” he said. Rajpal added that scrutiny, approvals, and work order issuance could delay new appointments by up to six months.