Tighter norms for garbage contracts

To plug loopholes in the garbage collection and transportation system, the civic body has tightened norms for the Rs700-crore worth tenders to be floated next year, after the current set of contracts lapse in May.

To plug loopholes in the garbage collection and transportation system, the civic body has tightened norms for the Rs700-crore worth tenders to be floated next year, after the current set of contracts lapse in May.

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The civic body has realised that assigning several wards to one contractor is a problem - if the equipment owned by the contractor breaks down, the damage caused cannot be controlled even after pressing civic machinery into action.

To counter the problem, the BMC has decided to not allot more than three wards to a contractor. Currently, contractors have more than two zones, i.e. 6-8 wards allotted to them.
The BMC has issued notices to two of its contractors due to the fewer and delayed number of trips made by them. The BMC is also calculating the amount of penalty to be levied on these contractors. Though there has been a demand to blacklist these errant contractors, the civic body doesn't think the lapses are grave enough to deserve such action.

The BMC will also be asking the contractors to register vehicles on their own. The vehicles will also be expected to comply with environmental standards prescribed by the central government.
"These changes have been made to fine-tune the system. We have found some problems with the way things work," said Bhalchandra Patil, chief engineer, Solid Waste Management department.
The proposed changes have been sent to the municipal commissioner Subodh Kumars' approval.