Separating solid waste management from BBMP

A government body such as the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), with its structural baggage will not be able to bring in the much-needed efficiency and accountability that Solid Waste Management (SWM) demands.

On the other hand, a private entity is likely to be more efficient and accountable for revenue and expenditure, but it could cut corners with respect to environmental and labour compliance. Hence, a non-profit, section 8 company option could be explored.

While some level of government control is needed, independence of operations is critical. More than 50% of its Board members could be from non-political, non-government backgrounds such as eminent citizens and SWM experts; the rest could be elected representatives from the City Council and senior officials from the BBMP, Urban Development Department, etc.

The entity would be financially independent, meeting most of its operating cost through user fee.

The Managing Director should have an assured fixed term, ideally three years to drive long-term planning. SWM does not demand any confidentiality and there should be complete transparency in finances, procurement, appointments.

Transparency is most critical as monitoring SWM is very challenging due to its dispersed nature. By being transparent, common citizens become its eyes. The citizen feedback can be formally integrated through Ward Committees who rate the performance and the payment to the local operator gets tied to this rating. Technologies such as Block Chain must be used for all financial dealings to weed out corruption.

“Focussed attention on waste management, a critical issue for the city, can only be provided by an independent and dedicated body,” notes P Manivannan, IAS Officer. The whole country is facing hardships with respect to SWM, primarily because the function is being managed by municipalities that do not provide the kind of independence, accountability and dedicated focus required by this function.

Bengaluru can be a pioneer in this and create an appropriate body to manage SWM. There could be new challenges posed in the new setup. However, the writing is on the wall about the present system that has failed the city.