Days after claims of irregularities in garbage contracts, Chief Minister meets with Opposition

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday sought cooperation from MLAs and MLCs from Bengaluru to break what he called the “garbage mafia” in the city, even as the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) is re-tendering 16 of 21 waste management packages.

Mr. Shivakumar held an all-party meeting at his official residence, Krishna, to discuss garbage management and development projects in the city. However, R. Ashok, Leader of the Opposition, who recently alleged irregularities in garbage management tenders, didn’t attend the meeting.

Mr. Ashok had accused the government of favouring an ineligible company and demanded a high-level probe into the matter. He said that one of the ₹133-crore tenders floated by the GBA had been awarded to a private company despite the firm failing to meet the eligibility criteria.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s meeting saw discussion about the recent cancellation of tenders. Mr. Shivakumar briefed the meeting on the BSWML’s plan to restructure waste management by awarding 33 contracts for waste collection in 27 Assembly constituencies. The move is aimed at increasing the waste collection capacity in the city and ensuring seamless transportation, he said.

The new tenders would provide for the collection of up to 9,000 tonnes of waste. GPS tracking would be mandatory for all waste collection vehicles, and only new vehicles would be permitted under the contracts, he said. According to BSWML officials, only five contractors accepted the waste management tenders.

Karee Gowda, Chief Executive Officer, BSWML, told The Hindu that the rest have been demanding a nearly 30% premium on the actual contract value. The Cabinet had approved 14%, which was the discussion held during the meeting with stakeholders.

“The contracts are worth ₹584 crore annually, which the contractors want to scale up by another ₹180 crore. Thus, many refused to accept the Letter of Acceptance,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the State government has invoked the Essential Services Maintenance Act (Esma) for waste management. Mr. Shivakumar sought the Opposition’s support “for the good of the city”.

10 year plan

Mr. Shivakumar reportedly said that they were working on changing the alignment of the North-South Tunnel, which had become a point of contention as citizens raised concerns over the possible impact on Lalbagh.

Meanwhile, he said the government had been working on a 10-year development plan for the city estimated to cost about ₹1 Lakh crore to mark 500 years of the city’s founding in 2037.