Chennai Corporation may privatise two-thirds city conservancy work

The study, which was commissioned by the corporation earlier this year, will now be taken over by the bidders for conservancy operations in the city, according to officials.

“Bidders interested to take over integrated conservancy operations in the city will be allowed a chance to conduct individual studies on their own at landfill sites,” said a senior official.

For Chennaiites, what this means is that the local body has plans to integrate various aspects of conservancy operations like door-to-door collection, transportation, segregation, processing and disposing under a single operator. This operator will supply the manpower, maintain machinery, vehicles and other equipment as well as controlling operations at the landfill sites and will also be responsible for the scientific closure of the yards at Kodungaiyur and Perungudi.

As per a November council resolution, the local body will hand over conservancy operations to private players in zones one, two, three, seven, 11, 12, 14 and 15. Together with the areas in zones nine, 10 and 13 already covered by Ramky Enviro, private operators will have control over 11 out of the total 15 zones in the city. Only zones four, five, six and eight of the old corporation limits will be handled by the permanent conservancy staff.

Though the mooted plan is for integrating the operations under a single player, there seems to be some reservations at the highest levels of the government, officials said. Ripon Buildings officials will also discuss Ramky’s future in the city. “Ramky has a contract for three more years. We have concerns whether the new bidders would want complete coverage of the city in which case Ramky’s presence will become an issue. If we terminate prematurely, then compensation would have to be paid. So, nothing has been decided yet on what to do with Ramky but the different angles are being discussed,” said a senior official.

The corporation will be given the same Rs 180 crore fund to set up waste processing plants in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi landfill sites, after it was decided to move the project from Kuthambakkam and Minjur to Chennai, where resident unrest put paid to the local body’s hopes. It is believed that once the plants are set up, reclamation of the landfill sites will begin in earnest with the corporation looking to reclaim at least 90 per cent of the site.