NAGPUR: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has been spending over Rs500 more per metric tonne (MT) for door-to-door garbage collection, yet the two private agencies — AG Enviro Limited and BVG India — are not following many of the terms and conditions of the agreement.
The major violation is that the agencies are still not collecting segregated garbage from the source point, ie individual homes. Even after passage of almost two years, NMC is still dumping nearly 57% mixed waste of the total approximately 1,202MT of garbage being generated in the city everyday at Bhandewadi yard. Both the agencies transport 39.2% wet and 4.1% dry waste to the yard.
NMC is paying Rs1,950 per MT to AG and Rs1,800 per MT to BVG for door-to-door garbage collection.
There is a provision in the agreement that NMC can impose a fine of Rs100 per vehicle from day one of the service for collecting and transporting mixed waste. Both firms had pressed around 472 vehicles into action, including 300 vehicles for door-to-door garbage collection and transportation. But NMC’s solid waste management (SWM) department and the zonal officers from the 10 zones ignored the blatant violations.
Nodal officer (SWM) Dr G Mahalle admitted that mixed garbage was being transported to Bhandewadi yard. “Soon, it will be stopped and only segregated waste will be collected from every house,” he said, adding that the firms will be fined for not adhering to terms of the agreement.
Residents from across the city are unhappy with the services of the garbage collection agencies. Kavita Singh, a resident of Surendragadh, which comes under Dharampeth zone, claimed that she segregates garbage diligently. “But the collector mixes them every morning,” she said. Many residents have stopped segregating the waste at source, she added.
Environment activist and director of Centre for Sustainable Development Leena Budhe asked why segregation of waste was not happening when NMC spends taxpayers’ money. “Although some residents are aware of segregation and its importance, they choose not to do so because they see their efforts going waste, when they find the private contractor dumping the segregated garbage in the same container,” she pointed out.
Green Vigil Foundation’s founder and green activist Kaustav Chatterjee said, “Segregation of household waste is the responsibility of the generator, but solid waste collection agencies have been instructed many times to educate citizens about segregation of waste and not to pick up unsegregated waste.”
He added, “We have witnessed during the last three years that various awareness campaigns did not yield desired results and only a small fraction of population is handing over segregated waste, but citizens also get highly demotivated upon noticing garbage collectors mixing up segregated waste with non-segregated waste.”
Chatterjee further said, “NMC needs to make strict rules of not lifting unsegregated waste. On a trial basis, the same can be implemented at a limited area.”
According to Budhe and Chatterjee, even when contracts are awarded it is NMC’s sole responsibility to monitor and supervise the work of the contractor. “Enforcement is the key and this has to come from the civic body,” they said.
