Scams worth crores. Favour to non-Odia contractors alleged. High level probe demanded.
BHUBANESWAR: The waste management and sanitation services in ‘Smart City’ Bhubaneswar are in a mess as a result of large-scale corruption and tender fixing in the Housing and Urban Development Department in the 10-year tenure of Secretary G Mathi Vathanan.
The waste management and sanitation services in ‘Smart City’ Bhubaneswar are in a mess as a result of large-scale corruption and tender fixing in the Housing and Urban Development Department
Favour to non-Odia contractors
It is alleged that the Vathanan has shown favouritism to non-Odia contractors and dubious agencies from outside the State in awarding projects, which has caused a loss of crores of rupees to the exchequer. What’s more, despite spending around Rs 100 crores annually, Bhubaneswar has slipped drastically in position among the Smart Cities of India in terms of cleanliness.
In 2016, Bhubaneswar was adjudged the country’s No.1 Smart City. The city, however, slipped to 22nd position by 2021. Bhubaneswar has lost its position despite the BMC authorities constructing around 40 micro composting centres (MCCs) and Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) with an average cost of Rs1.5 crore per unit across the city over the years. The fact is, most of the MCCs have stopped functioning and have been reduced to being small dumping yards in the residential areas.
Mathi Vathanan and Municipal Administration Director Sangramjeet Nayak were the driving force behind the construction of such facilities. Besides, the department purchased 43 shredding machines at a cost of Rs.16 lakh each for the 40 odd MCCs in the city. But most of them became defunct within a year and a half of their purchase. Surprisingly, the machine procured had no warranty. So, in November 2023, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation again decided to procure another 22 shredding machines at a total cost of Rs 3.7 crore.
Scams worth crores
Two machines were purchased at a cost of Rs 3 crore for fresh waste management for the temporary transit station (TTS) near Sainik School. But after the transfer of former BMC Commissioner Vijay Amrit Kulange, the machines are lying idle.
When Mathi Vathnan was administrator of the BMC, he had changed the format of sanitation tender as a result of which many contractors from outside Odisha entered into the system with comparatively low rates, resulting in hampering the standard of cleanliness of Bhubaneswar. The tenders were split into packages to ensure that outsiders could participate in the process with less quoted prices though they did not have any geographical idea about Bhubaneswar. They did not survey the area and no assessment was done to deploy adequate manpower in the different wards of the city.
When the contractors from outside failed to perform with a very low rate, Mathi Vathnan forced the BMC to help them by supplying additional vehicles and manpower to clean the wards. It was a clear violation of terms and conditions of the contract agreement.
Notably, the BMC has provided more than 400 battery-operated vehicles to the cleaning contractors for door-to-door garbage collection in the city. The BMC had purchased more than 500 to 600 battery operated vehicles for door-to-door garbage collection. It is alleged that huge kickbacks were collected in the deal. Huge money is also being siphoned off in the guise of maintenance of the vehicles.
Bhubaneswar Turns Garbage Dump
Besides, the 40 MCCs in the various residential areas under the BMC jurisdiction have made life miserable for the residents, For example, the wellness centres, apartments, business establishments, eateries and schools located in the area have to keep the doors and wind closed throughout the day due to foul smell emitted by the MCC near the NICCO Park area. In another example, an MCC located near Salia Sahi is in the close vicinity of Kalinga Hospital, Apollo Hospital, educational institutions and other corporate offices has become a nightmare for people due to the putrid smell.
The MCCs situated in other residential areas have similarly affected the residents and triggered deep resentment among them due to air pollution. It might be mentioned here that more than 800 tonnes of garbage is collected in the capital city. Out of which 200 tonnes is sent to the 40 MCCs for processing. As many as 500 tonnes are dumped at the TTS near the Sainik School. Hundred tonnes of green garbage is sent to the Daruthenga dumping yard.
Each MCC gets 5 tonnes of garbage for processing in a day. So, in a month 105 tonnes of garbage gets piled up there. This leads to huge air pollution in the surrounding area. Besides, the waste water flows into the nearby drains creating a very unhygienic atmosphere.
UD Dept’s lack of vision, faulty policies
Experts have blamed the UD Dept’s lack of vision, faulty policies and corrupt practices for the mess. The DPR was prepared in airconditioned chambers without taking the ground realities and stakeholders into account. The blame game between UD Dept and BMC had made the matter worse.
Latest reports said a TTS has been set up on the Cuttack-Puri Road to du residents like it had become in the Daruthenga and Sainik School area. The intelligentsia said as the new Mohan Charan Majhi Government had promised action against the corrupt officers, it should thoroughly probe the scams in the waste management in the State, suitably punish the guilty and clean the ‘Augean Stables’ in the UD Department and the BMC to streamline the waste management in the State capital.