Under the contractor regime, before pourakarmikas were brought under the direct payment system, the BBMP was crumbling under huge solid waste management bills that crossed the ₹1,000 crore mark annually. However, the problem of inflated bills may soon be a thing of the past.
Strict implementation of biometric attendance for pourakarmikas has already saved the civic body ₹250 crore, claim civic officials. The BBMP is confident of saving another ₹150 crore as it implements GPS systems and RFID cards (radio-frequency identification) to monitor garbage transportation vehicles. This will take the total annual savings to ₹400 crore.
“We are in the process of implementing GPS and RFID cards. We have already saved ₹80 crore in renting out tippers. It’s been claimed that 5,500 autos are collecting garbage in the city. With RFID cards and implementation of micro plans, this will come down to 3,500, which will save us a few more crores,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, SWM.
Civic officials claim that when implemented, it could bring down the SWM budget for 2018-19 to around ₹600 crore. “This, despite the implementation of minimum wages that almost doubled the salaries of pourakarmikas,” said an official.
“During the contractor regime, the pourakarmika roll was 32,000 strong, which has now reduced to a little below 19,000. This has helped us save on the bill amount,” said Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner, SWM, adding that the rolls will be further trimmed based on the 700:1 ratio of people to pourakarmikas.
