Faridabad: Solid waste disposal system in disarray

Bijendra Ahlawat

Faridabad, April 5

The solid waste disposal operations in this industrial hub are in a state of disarray. The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad has been forced to rely on its “contingency plan” for the past six months.

It is reported that as its outsourcing policy failed to yield positive results, the civic body is resorting to short-term measures. It decided to hire local contractors for waste disposal in all three zones after the authorities recommended the termination of the contract that the MC had signed with a private firm in 2017, claim sources in the civic administration.

Under its contingency plan, the MC hired contractors to do the work that was earlier being done by the company, which was also given the responsibility to set up a plant to covert waste into energy at the Bandhwari dumping site.

Though the MC has been spending around Rs 15 lakh per month, sources claim that it is only a short-term plan and these contractors are being paid on the basis of the work done. They add that this method has not proved a success as disputes have erupted regarding the deployment of men and machinery and other related issues.

Sources allege a contractor, who was hired in one of the zones, gave up work due to a delay in the release of payment, resulting in civic mess in various parts of Faridabad.

“The MC has been in a fix over the waste disposal work as the company, which was allotted work in 2017, has neither given up work nor it has been able to do the work satisfactorily,” said an official on condition of anonymity. He said though the termination of the MoU had been recommended last year, the contract continued due to certain technical issues. Thus, the civic body was forced to adopt a short-term contingency plan to resolve the problem.

The move to terminate the contract had come up in the wake of numerous complaints of non-performance and the firm’s failure to set up a power plant for conversion of waste into energy at the Bandhwari site, which is located near the border of Faridabad and Gurugram districts, say sources.

The city generates a daily waste of around 850 tonnes. Over half of this waste is required to be disposed at the Bandhwari site.

According to officials, although the MC has started segregation and processing plants at Mujeri and Pratapgarh villages, located within its civic limits, their capacity is still less than 30 per cent of the requirement.

MC Executive Engineer OP Kardam said the MC was taking measures for ensuring proper waste disposal, including its segregation and processing as per the NGT norms.

Faridabad MC’s temporary fixes fall short

• The Faridabad MC had signed a contract with a firm for waste disposal and setting up a plant to convert waste into energy in 2017
• But it is alleged that the company neither gave up work nor could it manage to do the work satisfactorily
• Thus, the authorities recommended the termination of contract and decided to hire local contractors for waste disposal in all three zones
• Though the MC has been spending around Rs 15 lakh per month, sources claim that it is only a short-term plan
• Besides, disputes have erupted regarding the deployment of men and machinery
• Sources allege a contractor, who was hired in one of the zones, gave up work due to a delay in the release of payment
• Also, the capacity of segregation and processing plants at Mujeri and Pratapgarh villages, located within its civic limits, is less than 30% of the requirement