In MC and waste collectors’ tussle, Chandigarh residents suffer

The developments of the past week have brought the waste management into spotlight as the municipal corporation (MC) decided to take over door-to-door garbage collection from private hands and will soon deploy the collection vehicles to achieve 100% waste segregation. HT decodes the tussle between the MC and waste collectors and what is raising the stink in the city.

Why waste collection halted?

Private waste collectors have stopped picking up waste from houses ever since MC general house on Friday passed resolution to take over door-to-door garbage collection from their hands in order to streamline waste management in the city.

Why MC will take control?

MC officials say proper collection of waste is paramount to achieve 100% waste segregation in the city. One of the reasons why residents in the past failed to segregate waste at household level is because waste collectors did not collect waste in segregated manner, despite repeated requests by the MC. With waste collection under its control, they are planning to set up a model for point-to-point waste management.

What is the MC’s model?

MC has followed Indore’s model, India’s cleanest city in Swachh Survekshan 2018. Chandigarh has 2.5 lakh households. To cover them, MC will buy 250 twin-bin garbage tippers attached with two bins- one for wet waste and other for dry waste. One tipper will have the capacity to store segregated waste of nearly 1,000 households at one time. The markets will also be covered. After collection, the vehicles will leave for the Dadumajra processing plant via 10 transit centres. Once they reach the plant, wet waste will be sent for processing into compost, dry waste will be kept at the material recovery centre. Here ragpickers will be allowed to pick up recycled waste and rest will be sent for processing.

Offer to waste collectors

MC has offered contractual jobs to 1,447 waste collectors registered in their records and ready to accommodate some more if they are left out in the past. The MC is of the view that at present majority of waste collectors are under control of bunch of contractors, who pay them around Rs 5000 to Rs 6000 for collecting waste. An official said it is these contractors who are involved in flaring up the protest and misleading waste collectors. If they come under the MC rolls they will get guaranteed salary of Rs 12,000 and other benefits.

What waste collectors want?

The waste collectors want the MC to not take control of the waste management. President of Chandigarh door-to-door waste collectors Jai Kishan Dula said more than 5,000 of their workforce are involved in waste collection and they are offering jobs to only a third of them. MC claimed that the figure was exaggerated. But Dhulla said he does not trust the MC on their job offers. “They will put us under contractors rather than hiring us directly. We will not relent unless MC does not take back its decision,” said Dula.

View of political parties

While councillors across political parties approved the resolution passed in the House to take control of waste collection, many politicians are supporting waste collectors. Congress president Pardeep Chhabra met waste collectors two days ago and BJP leader Harmohan Dhawan also addressed them. Former Congress mayor Harphool Kalyan too visited the collectors.

How MC plans to resolve?

Even as the MC temporarily deployed its own resources to collect waste, mayor Davesh Moudgil said he was in talks with the protesters and was hopeful of early resolution of the matter. He sought waste collectors’ support. However former mayor Arun Sood said the MC should have been well prepared in terms of their additional resources before taking this decision.