JOIN USDoor-to-door garbage collection stopped in City
The door-to-door collection of garbage within Mangaluru City Corporation limits and its transportation to the landfill site at Pachchanady came to a halt on Tuesday.
The company that has been collecting garbage in the City so far – Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd – has demanded the MCC to pay the dues, if the work is to be resumed.
Haridas Salian, project in-charge officer of the company, who spoke to Deccan Herald, said, “We had issued a notice to the Corporation on December 21, 2015 and gave a week’s time for them to settle the dues. We had also brought up the issue of insufficient capital to run the show. In spite of all this, we continued to work on request from the Corporation.”
Capital problem
Speaking further, Salian said, the company has not paid salary to 950 employees. Without flow of capital, it is difficult to also pay for the fuel of the vehicles, he added. “On Tuesday morning, a meeting was convened with the authorities who had promised to pay Rs one crore within 15 days, to clear the dues. If the Corporation fails to pay Rs five to six crores, we will not resume our services,” warned the officer.
Prakash Salian, member of the Corporation Standing Committee for Health, Education and Social Justice, said that there were issues that need to be sorted out before making the payment.
‘Rules disregarded’
“The company has flouted the contract conditions. It has outsourced some of the work, which is against the agreement. Grass cutting and street sweeping were not carried out properly, while the workers do not wear uniforms. Even the development of vehicles are not in accordance with the condition laid down by the MCC. The company was also engaged in transporting soil,” the member listed out, and added, “We have, therefore, made a deduction in the payment as well as imposed penalty for failing to adhering to the condition. Now, the company is using pressure tactics.”
He said that while the company has claimed that Rs 10 crore is pending, but this is far from the truth. The due for payment is only Rs four crore, he clarified.
“The Antony Waste Handling Cell Pvt Ltd had started its operation in Mangaluru City on February 1, 2015. As per the condition, they promised to have total door-to-door garbage collection using hydraulic vehicles in a phased manner. If they fail to resume work on Wednesday, we will have to make alternative arrangement to collect the garbage from houses,” said Prakash Salian.