Mumbai: The BMC has extended the deadline for the sixth time in a row for its controversial slum sanitation tender worth Rs 1,300 crore. The civic body's plans to replace NGO volunteers, who currently manage waste collection in the slums, with a single contractor has received flak. Also, the substantial earnest money deposit (EMD) requirement of Rs13 crore is said to be a hindrance in the way of prospective bidders. The deadline to submit the bid has been extended till April 30.
At present, volunteers appointed through unemployed cooperatives by organisation, women's self-help groups, and women's groups have been working voluntarily in slums since 2013. These volunteers are paid Rs.6000 per month for their contribution to slum sanitation. "There has been lack of accountability and monitoring which affected the work in slums. While under the new tender, the workers will be supervised by the contractor, will attend to complaints, penalised for unattended work, and will be given proper safety, tools and technology for use. These workers will be paid at minimum wage, around Rs. 20,000 per month," said a civic official.
The centralised contract would be responsible for waste collection, its disposal as well as cleaning of public toilets in slums. Accordingly, BMC issued a tender on February 16, for cleanliness of slums for the next four years. But they couldn't get a positive response on the previous five counts as well. "Other than the EMD requirement of Rs13 crore, the bidders are worried about the writ petition filed against this proposal in court. The future of this proposal depends on the hearing in court. We will be presenting the current status to the municipal commisioner for his final decision," said a senior civic official.
The Mumbai Sahar Berojgar Seva Sahakari Sanstha, a federation of 584 sanitation, waste segregation and allied workers’ societies in the city has filed a writ petition against the centralised slum sanitation.
