Residents of several localities in Yelahanka, Rajarajeshwarinagar and Jayanagar have been up in arms over the mounds of garbage that have not been cleared for the past four to five days now.
This is because the garbage contractor has refused to clear the waste citing that garbage bills have not been cleared for the past three months.
City in-charge Minister, R. Ramalinga Reddy told reporters here on Thursday that the garbage contractor – BVG India Ltd. – had failed to clear the garbage effectively. “The officials of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) were directed to ensure that the garbage bills are cleared only if the work executed by the contractor is satisfactory,” he said.
He also pointed out that the BBMP had cancelled the garbage contract in a few Assembly constituencies, besides levying fine on the contractors. The BBMP had already floated new tenders for 113 wards in the city. “In Yelahanka, the BBMP has already levied a fine of around Rs. 3 crore on BVG India Ltd. Of the three packages, the contractor has got a stay on two packages, while the BBMP is managing the other package,” he said.
Senior BBMP officials said that the civic body was now handling waste management itself in seven wards in Byatarayanapura and four wards in Yelahanka constituencies. “The BBMP Commissioner has directed the zonal commissioners to now bow down to pressure from the garbage contractors. The zonal commissioners have been instructed to utilise the services of BBMP’s permanent pourakarmikas to clear the waste wherever required,” an official said.
