Bengaluru: After facing strong pushback from apartment complexes, Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML) is now planning to empanel four more vendors for bulk waste collection, while allowing the existing ones to continue operations.The move comes after BSWML notified Mukha Protein as the empanelled vendor for bulk waste collection for the north and east zones. Several apartment complexes received notices directing them to sign up with Mukha Protein and hand over their waste to it. Apartment complexes, however, raised concerns over a monopoly in bulk waste collection and pointed out that existing vendors were charging significantly lower rates.
An RWA member of a north Bengaluru apartment complex said, “This is clearly becoming a monopoly. Apartments are being pushed to engage with just one empanelled vendor, and that’s not how bulk waste management works. Typically, apartment complexes call for multiple quotations, but now we are being told there is only one option and a fixed rate of Rs 12 per kg, up from the earlier Rs 2–3 per kg. If there are multiple vendors, bulk waste generators will get more space to negotiate on price.”Responding to the concerns, BSWML managing director Karee Gowda told TOI that the system was not intended to create a monopoly. “We will eventually have five empanelled vendors for the five corporations. At present, one vendor is mapped to a corporation for operational clarity. We received multiple representations and will soon call tenders to add four more empanelled vendors,” he said.The Bengaluru Apartment Federation (BAF) also urged BSWML to reconsider the Rs 12 per kg rate for wet waste. “Currently, waste is being collected at much lower rates by existing vendors. Now apartment complexes are forced to shift to a single vendor with no guarantee against price exploitation. Giving multiple options will help bulk waste generators get competitive pricing,” a BAF representative said.A senior BSWML official said around 40 applications were received during the initial tender process but most of them lacked the required processing infrastructure.“Calling for tenders is not the challenge. Finding vendors with proper processing plants is. One vendor per corporation also helps us fix accountability and intervene quickly if there are complaints,” the official said.Direct engagement optionWhile some apartment complexes told TOI they would prefer BSWML to directly manage waste collection, the govt agency clarified that this would be allowed only if bulk waste generators pay the user fee which is fixed at Rs 12 per kg for wet waste and Rs 2 per kg for dry waste.As per the Solid Waste Management By-laws, 2020, bulk waste generators are required to process waste in situ and hand over dry and other waste to empanelled vendors authorised by the civic body. However, BSWML said that if bulk waste generators are unwilling to engage empanelled vendors, they can instead pay the user fee directly to BSWML, which will then collect the waste.Currently, bulk waste generators can seek exemption from the SWM user fee while filing property tax by declaring their waste collection arrangements and the empanelled vendor they are associated with. A senior BSWML official, however, cautioned that managing bulk waste alongside door-to-door collection would be challenging. “The by-law prefers vendor engagement, but we can still collect waste if the user fee is paid. With existing infrastructure, our capacity to handle all bulk waste is limited,” the official said.
