Contractors will be penalised

Mumbai: Contractors will face stiff penalty if they are not able to reduce the waste generated in areas, where they were assigned to lift the garbage. In a first, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has put onus on contractors to reduce the quantum of garbage in their areas along with lifting the trash.

On an experimental basis, the BMC has asked contractors to carry out the entire task of lifting and carrying the garbage to dumping grounds. The pilot project will be carried out in four wards - Mulund (T), Kandivali (R-South), Borivali (R-Central) and Dahisar (R-North) for a period of seven years. In the contracts, the BMC has laid down strict conditions for contractors, who have also been asked to create public awareness about waste management.

“Contractors have been asked to minimise the number of public dustbins by creating awareness about garbage collection by reaching each and every household. If he fails to reduce the number of dustbins, he will be penalised every day,” said a senior official from the solid waste management department.

They have also been asked to create awareness about waste collection and processing at the source in their areas. To address citizens' complaints, they should form a control room in the region. They should also provide international standard bins to housing societies and maintain them for a period of seven years, he added.

In addition to providing manpower to collect the garbage, the contractors will also have to provide compactors and other vehicles to lift the trash. It will be the first time side loading compactors will be used to lift garbage in the city. These compactors have the capacity to lift the dustbin directly from its place and offload it into the vehicle. About two to four side loading compactors will be provided according to the size of the ward, said civic officials.