Bengaluru: Former corporator N.R Ramesh alleged on Monday that bowing to pressure from the garbage mafia, BBMP Commissioner G. Kumar Naik and Special Commissioner (solid waste management) Darpan Jain have ‘favoured’ a few garbage contractors. He has filed a complaint against Mr Naik and Mr Jain with the BMTF and Lokayukta.
Mr Ramesh told the media people that the BBMP had called for garbage tenders for 79 wards on June 23, but the notification was withdrawn the next day and tenders were called for only 35 wards. The notification was withdrawn to favour 48 contractors who are running the garbage mafia, he alleged.
“In its report, the BMTF had blacklisted 48 contractors who had cheated the BBMP to the tune of Rs 250 crore by providing false details. “However, it now appears that Mr Naik and Mr Jain have drawn tender conditions after consulting these contractors,” he said.
Throwing light on the notification, he said, “As per the conditions of the tender, only those who have an annual income of over Rs 4.5 crore can participate in the tender. Also, they should make a deposit of Rs 1 crore before taking up the works. Shockingly, it specifies that contractors should own vehicles to transport garbage and those renting or borrowing vehicles cannot participate. These conditions can only be met by the 48 contractors and not everyone,” he said.
Mr Ramesh alleged that the estimation costs for garbage management in these 35 wards alone was Rs 214.64 crore, whereas the BBMP is spending Rs 88 crore as of now.
“The BBMP plans to spend over Rs 1,100 crore annually on garbage management. For a corporation which generates Rs 2,500 crore revenue, this expenditure is exorbitant. The BBMP will become bankrupt,” he said.
‘Does he have any proof?’
Mr Naik denied the charges and demanded Mr Ramesh to prove his claims. “We are holding extensive pre-bid meetings and taking responses of contractors into consideration. If they feel the rules are stringent, we will definitely adopt the changes accordingly. These reactions and changes will be uploaded online too. In fact, we are holding such meetings to ensure a transparent process. On the costs, the tenders are not even awarded yet. How can he know what will it cost the BBMP? Does he have any proof? The city has grown by leaps and bounds and garbage management costs have increased. The previous council had discussed the issue and agreed to increase the costs. One should not speak on the basis of old data,” he said.
