Bhayandar: The multi-crore garbage lifting contract mooted by the BJP-led Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has landed in a controversy owing to allegations of favouritism to a politically backed cartel of contractors.
There are allegations that the contractors have been distorting facts and figures for huge monetary gains for themselves and the sanctioning authority.
The MBMC had inked a five-year contract with Global Waste Management Company in 2012, to lift garbage from the twin-city and ferry it to the Uttan dump yard. The agency which has been on-extension mode since the expiry of the tender in 2017 claims to have deployed 79 compactor vehicles and 1,599 sanitary workers. However, the actual ground work is being done by local sub-contractors.
After an extended round of delays, the MBMC had invited fresh bids for a four-year contract in 2018, envisaging -daily sweeping, cleaning of roads, gutters, pavements, markets, door to door collection and transportation of dry-wet waste separately as per the Municipal Solid Waste Rules.
However, only one bid was received for the Rs 90 crore annual work. The lone bidder was blacklisted by another civic body for alleged irregularities. The MBMC has now floated bids in two parts – one for daily cleanliness of wards and the other an eight-year contract to ferry the collected garbage to the dump yard. “Two companies have bid for the tender. However, due to complaints and questions raised about the legitimacy, the tender committee has sought clarifications from both the bidders. The selection process will take place only after we get a satisfactory reply and advice from our legal team,” said deputy civic chief Dr. Sambhaji Panpatte.
Spread across an area of 79.4 square kilometre, the twin-city generates around 450 metric tonnes of garbage. This apart from industrial and bio-medical waste.
