All routes not covered, Municipal Corporation Gurugram to fine Ecogreen 15% of monthly payment

GURUGRAM: MCG has decided to penalise its solid waste management concessionaire Ecogreen for its “poor performance” by withholding 15% of its monthly payment every month.
According to an analysis of the GPS reports of Ecogreen vehicles done by the civic body, 30% of the routes are not being covered by the concessionaire’s vans for primary door-to-door waste collection, implying that the garbage is being collected in an “unauthorised and unscientific manner”. MCG has divided the city into 310 routes for primary waste collection.
For example, MCG officials said that some 34,334 metric tonnes of waste was transported to Bandhwari in April this year, of which 30% was not collected by Ecogreen. The billing amount to collect and transport this quantity of waste comes to Rs 1.03 crore, due to which it was decided to deduct 15% of the monthly payment.
“The performance of the assigned work has been examined during the last six months and shortcomings have been observed on many fronts and various parameters,” read a communication recently sent by the MCG commissioner to Ecogreen.
However, the deducted amount will be kept in the escrow account for the solid waste management project of the city, officials said.
“We did an analysis of the GPS reports of Ecogreen vehicles from October 2021 to March this year and decided that a lump sum penalty of 15% will be imposed on the concessionaire. From March this year only, we have started deducting 15% from their monthly payment,” said a senior MCG official privy to the matter. However, Ecogreen officials were quick to flay the move.
“As per our agreement with the MCG, it is nowhere mentioned that a penalty will be imposed if we don’t cover the routes as per GPS. So, it is wrong on the part of the civic body to impose a penalty. We will take a legal opinion on MCG’s decision and proceed accordingly,” said Sanjay Sharma, deputy CEO, Ecogreen.
“Whenever we receive any complaint for waste collection, we take prompt action as per the agreement.”
MCG officials said that the payment is made to Ecogreen for segregated primary waste collection, maintenance of transfer stations and other compliances with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
“While we don’t face any problem in waste collection from Ecogreen, there is certainly a problem in enforcement of source segregation of waste. Ecogreen is not collecting segregated waste, and we believe that they should not collect waste from the households which are not segregating their waste,” said Lalit Suraj Bhola, a member of United Gurugram RWA.