Only six of the 21 bid winners have accepted the work orders for garbage collection which were recently approved by the State Cabinet, while eight packages have been challenged in court, according to Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) sources.

The development comes amid the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) tightening rules to reform the waste collection system in the city. The new tenders had mandated several aspects, including GPS tracking and vehicles with increased capacity to collect waste.

Karee Gowda, Chief Executive Officer, BSWML, told that eight packages had been challenged in court and seven had been accepted. For the seven rejected packages, the BSWML floated tenders again.

Suggestions by stakeholdersFor monitoringPrepare micro-plans for waste collection and management
Introduce GPS tracking for collection vehicles
Nominate ward in-charge
For volunteer participationAuthorise wardens with valid ID card
Appoint one volunteer for each block
Institutionalise the wardens’ system
For improving household collectionCrack down on sub-contracting of waste collection
Establish clear collection routes and deploy suitable vehicles
Establish a common communication platform for stakeholders, including citizens
Introduce night-time collection in densely populated areas

With this, the BSWML, which was hoping to establish strict accountability through close monitoring of the collection system, is now facing a setback. The agency had planned 33 waste collection packages to cover 28 Assembly constituencies and issued tenders for 21 packages.

After the process, the details of the lowest bidders and the tenders were sent to the Cabinet for approval, which had set up a committee to assess the cost. The Cabinet later suggested revisions to the tenders, and the necessary changes were made. Finally, the Cabinet approved the tenders. Now, fresh challenges have emerged for the BSWML.