BMC to spend Rs 400 crore on garbage collectors

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will spend above Rs 400 crore on contractors, who will provide vehicles as well as manpower to lift the garbage in four wards for a period of seven years. Even the task of providing dustbins has also been allocated to contractors only.

In what may be called as a first step towards privatisation of garbage carrying contracts, the BMC will not depute civic labourers to lift garbage in certain areas of the city. Instead the civic body has asked the contractors to carry out the entire task of lifting and carrying the garbage to the dumping grounds.

The contract of lifting and carrying garbage from Borivali (R-Central) and Dahisar (R-North) has been allotted at the cost of Rs 270 crore, whereas the BMC will spend nearly Rs 160 crore for Kandivali (R-South) and Mulund (T) wards.

In the present situation, contractors only provide vehicles to carry garbage from the collection centres to the dumping grounds. Municipal labourers perform the job lifting and unloading the garbage.

"The main feature of the contract will be that 10 per cent space of all small and big compactors will be kept separately for collection of dry waste and e-waste. This will enable transportation of wet and dry waste without mixing them in the same vehicle. The dry and e-waste will be offloaded at dry waste collection centres in their particular wards, whereas wet will be carried to the transfer centres and dumping grounds. This facility will facilitate citizens of waste segregation and reduce the burden on dump sites," said a senior civic official.

The contractors have also been asked to install GPRS and IFID system on the vehicles for maintenance and management of these works, however the software will be provided by the BMC. The civic body will install camera-laden weighbridges at the transfer centres and dumping grounds, he added.