The separate tenders for collection and disposal of wet and dry waste saw several councillors, especially those from the opposition BJP, raise objections, even going to the extent of labelling Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials as ‘frauds’ during the council meeting on Tuesday.

The main contention of several councillors, including Opposition Leader Padmanabha Reddy and Kadu Malleswara councillor Manjunath Raju, was about how effective separate tenders for wet and dry waste would be.

Pointing out to the duration of the tender – just 12 months, the councillors sought to know if contractors would be willing to apply for such a short duration.

“Was the tender period of 12 months finalised after some ‘deals’?” they asked.

A few councillors questioned the rationale behind the unequal distribution of auto tippers and compactors.

Mr. Reddy sought to know why the tender document was not placed before the council or the standing committees for a discussion. “A special meeting could have been convened and opinions of all councillors elicited. While some conditions included in the tender document are good, it would have been better if the councillors were also included in the discussions,” he said.

Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad replied that the BBMP had received a lot of flak from the Supreme Court and National Green Tribunal for sending mixed waste to landfills and quarries.

“Segregation at source once stood at 53%. However, the figure has now come down. With separate tenders for wet and dry waste, we aim to improve the level of segregation of waste at source. This will also help prevent aggregation of the segregated waste after collection, which is being done now,” he explained and added that the tender would be finalised on February 22.

He said the BBMP had identified nearly 8,000 ragpickers who, along with non-governmental organisations working in the waste management sector, would be roped in for collection and processing of dry waste, he said.

Funds for welfare schemes

Later, the fund allocation for various social welfare schemes were discussed. Councillors pointed out that funds were not being utilised, and that beneficiaries were being left out. A few councillors stated that social welfare requirements vary across wards.

Allocation

Mr. Prasad said the BBMP's revenue so far amounts to ₹5,548 crore, of which ₹162 crore would be allocated for various welfare schemes. He said the funds may be utilised by the wards for the schemes that applied to them. He also said he would soon issue a circular decentralising the process of fund distribution for the schemes so that files may be cleared in the respective zonal offices.