Waste management company threatens to stop operations

The company that receives around 50% city’s waste a day for processing from the Coimbatore Corporation has threatened to stop operations.

The company, Coimbatore Integrated Waste Management Company Pvt. Ltd. (CIWMCPL), sent a notice to the Corporation a few days ago saying it would be constrained to stop processing around the 500 tonnes waste a day if it did not clear its dues.

Sources in the Corporation said the CIWMCPL sent the notice on September 3 seeking ₹56.93 crore in dues and sought ₹5 crore by September 10, another ₹5 crore by September 20 and a like sum by September 30.

The Corporation had not yet paid the ₹5 crore the company had demanded by September 10, the sources added.

The company had said, “It is expressly further notified that on the Corporation’s failure to cure/comply with this notice, our company shall be constrained to treat this notice as a preliminary notice for termination of concession agreement as numerous notices to rectify including the Legal Notice dated 06.04.2020 have been neglected by the Corporation.”

The CIWMCPL pointed out to the Corporation that right since the time they signed the concession agreement to treat segregated waste, the latter had been in material breach of various clauses of agreement.

One of the breaches was non-payment of transportation fee, processing fee, solid landfill fee and closure charges, all of which amounted to ₹25.93 crore.

It was forced to move the Madras High Court to recover the dues. During the course of proceedings, the company, case went in for arbitration, where the Corporation agreed to clear the dues with arrears totalling ₹56.93 crore.

Even after the arbitration proceedings, the Corporation failed to comply with the order, forcing it to move a contempt application, the CIWMCPL reminded the Corporation.

The Corporation’s failure to pay the dues had crippled its operations so much so that it was dependent on its group companies for running day-to-day operations.

Sources in the Corporation said the civic body had received the notice and very soon senior officials would meet the CIWMCPL representatives to sort out the matter. The CIWMCPL said the company hoped for an amicable settlement of the issue.