CHENNAI: Between November 2017 and June 2018, Ramky Enviro Engineers, the company in charge of conservancy operations in three corporation zones, has been penalised with a fine of Rs 4.84 crore for faulty services. However, the Chennai Corporation has done little to prevent the company from taking up operations in more zones, considering their track record.
The deadline for submitting bids to take up conservancy operations in eight more zones ends on December 24. And senior officials from Ramky Enviro Engineers have told Express that the company has made a bid to take up conservancy operations in four zones (one package).
“While the bidding is done by the central team, we were told there are plans to take up conservancy operations in four zones,” said a senior official.
If they are successful, Ramky Enviro Engineers will soon manage conservancy operations in seven of the 15 Corporation zones. Interestingly, officials in the Corporation’s control room claimed that around 40 per cent of all solid waste management complaints come from Teynampet, Kodambakkam and Adyar zones, which are managed by Ramky Enviro Engineers.
Officials from the Swachh Bharat Mission also corroborated this figure. “While these zones have a larger elite population that promptly file complaints, the quantum of complaints clearly shows the inefficiency of the private partner in managing conservancy operations,” said an official.
When contacted, a senior official from Ramky Enviro Engineers said, “We have been managing operations for seven years. If the Corporation is unhappy with our work, we would have been terminated.”
The official also denied allegations of inflating waste collected to increase tipping fee. “The transfer stations are operated by the corporation. How can we inflate the figures?,” the official argued.
The inefficiency of Ramky Enviro Engineers and the loopholes in the previous privatisation contract have been noted by the civic body. Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan himself agreed at a press meet recently that the private partner’s track record has forced the Chennai Corporation to move from a ‘tipping fee’ model to a payment model based on performance parameters.
“In the eight zones, the private partner will be paid only based on the performance in parameters such as door-to-door collection, street sweeping and segregation of waste,” he said, claiming that only bids from companies which produce a no objection certificate from the civic body they have worked with will be accepted.
Top officials in the Solid Waste Management department told Express that the Chennai Corporation had not granted a no-objection certificate to Ramky Enviro Engineers. “They should approach us if they want one. We can’t hand it over to them,” said a top official, refusing to comment on whether the Corporation has taken a conscious choice on not allowing Ramky Enviro Engineers.
However, officials in the Solid Waste Management department pointed out that Ramky Enviro Engineers, which manages conservancy operations in many civic bodies across the country, can produce a no-objection certificate from any one of those civic bodies.
“We have had a bitter experience with them but the rules that have been set will not stop their bids from being considered,” said a senior official.