The grand plans of the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) to walk into the new year with a better solid waste management (SWM) system has run into rough weather.
It can take off only 15 days later because of the delay in registering the vehicles to be deployed for waste collection and transportation.
With just four days to go for the D-day, the new contractor for solid waste management (SWM) has sought 15 days to complete the registration of vehicles which need special permission from Bengaluru-based Transport Commissioner. This is because the modifications done for the vehicles are not registered in Karnataka so far.
The MCC’s in-charge Commissioner Gokuldas Nayak said all the eight existing contractors would be asked to continue to pick up garbage as usual for 15 more days.
The project director (Mangaluru) for the new contracting agency Antony Waste Handling Pvt. Ltd., Hariprasad Salian, said the permission could not be obtained as the Transport Commissioner was busy with the Legislature session at Belagavi and was away from Bengaluru until Saturday.
Mayor Mahabala Marla told presspersons on Saturday that Mangaluru City South MLA J.R. Lobo had spoken to the Transport Commissioner and the matter would be resolved soon.
Mr. Salian said the permission was expected within the next three-to-four days but the registration of all the vehicles would take at least 15 days.
“The company is ready in all aspects except the registration of vehicles,” he said. The body of the vehicle has to be registered as “garbage vehicle” to avail insurance for them and without insurance the vehicles could not be operated, he said.
The company has procured 55 new jeeps for collecting waste from houses and 16 new large compactors — modified for garbage collection and transport.
Mr. Salian said the corporation would not stand to gain for the delayed start of the work as the company would be paid on the tonnage of garbage dumped at Vamanjoor and not a lumpsum amount. In fact, the company would stand to lose 15-days’ business, he said.