North MCD may soon land in mess with no new contractor for garbage collection

The civic body has expressed its helplessness to appoint a new concessionaire at one hand and has yet not taken anticipatory approval for extending the existing contract. The revelation has been made at a juncture when the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has ordered the three MCDs to get garbage dumps cleared twice and clean the city to control chikungunya and dengue outbreak.

According to the report, the unified MCD had authorised three companies for collection of garbage from dhalaos and transportation to landfill sites. The contract was expired in 2014 but no new agency was engaged in the last couple of years. 

The civic body, crying lack of fund and other resources, has been extending their tenure after every three months. “In the current scenario, the ailing Corporation cannot engage new concessionaire for waste management. The only way is to give another extension to the existing companies by getting anticipatory approval,” said P K Gupta, Commissioner North MCD.

It was also reported that despite L-G’s strict instructions, the concessionaires can not ensure zero garbage at all the dhalaos and clearing garbage twice a day is a distant dream. The officials revealed that the existing companies have not spent a single penny on purchase and maintenance of trucks engaged in garbage lifting. They have also not paid heed of necessary arrangements for efficient system of waste management since their term was over in 2014. “With rise in population, the city has been producing more garbage. The need of the day is to enhance infrastructure to lift and transport the waste material in a proper manner,” said an officials.

Leader of Opposition Mukesh Goel, however, held the top brass of the MCD responsible for recent crisis. He claimed that the Mayor, Standing Committee Chairman and heads of various committees are responsible for not hiring new concessionaires. “The proposal to engage new companies was passed before April by the Standing Committee but it is gathering dusts at various offices. The file was moved to the Mayor’s office about two months back but no approval has come yet. It is hard to understand why the Corporation offices have been sitting of such an important file,” said Goel.

It may be noted that about two days back the L-G had directed the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to clean dhalaos twice daily and to take strict action against concessionaires responsible for cleaning dhalaos (garbage dumps) in case of poor performance.