Proposal for separate contract for tender coconut, chicken waste lying idle

Though the Mangaluru City Corporation has proposed to collect tender coconut shells and chicken and other meat waste separately, the Council of the Corporation has failed to take any decision in this regard.

It was proposed to entrust the contract of collecting tender coconut shells and chicken and other meat waste from all the wards separately for a period of one year.

At present, Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd, the contractor in charge of collecting and transportation of solid waste collects chicken waste and tender coconut shells. The contractor uses six tipper lorries for the purpose of collecting chicken and other meat waste generated in all the 60 wards. As per the weigh bridge documents at the Pacchanady dump yard, on an average, 31 tonne chicken and other meat wastes reach daily at Pacchanady. On an average, 300 to 320 tonnes of garbage enter Pacchanady solid waste management unit for disposal.

The annual expenditure cost for the collection of chicken and other meat waste would be Rs 90.10 lakh (barring service carge). According to an estimate, the amount required for collection of chicken and other meat waste per tonne is Rs 769.29.

According to a survey, 20,000 tender coconut shells are collected daily and amounts to 18 to 20 tonne. On an average 20 tonne tender coconut shell wastes are generated in Mangaluru city corporation limits. The annual expenditure cost for the collection of tender coconut shells would be Rs 42.25 lakh. The amount required for collecting per tonne is Rs 619.98.

The proposal was placed in the Council meeting on June 29, where it was decided to send the proposal to Standing Committee on Health, Education and Social Justice. Accordingly, Standing Committee in its meeting on August 17 had decided to recommend to the Council to drop the proposal. However, on September 28, a majority of the council members demanded detailed discussion on the issue and asked not to drop the proposal. The proposal was once again included in the agenda during the Council meeting in December. However, the proposal was not discussed and the issue was postponed.

According to MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer, a decision is yet to be taken on the issue.