BENGALURU: The city was left stinking again on Monday after garbage contractors went on a strike.
They say that they have been issued a notice by the I-T Department for non-payment of service tax.
The contractors now want Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to pay this amount, failing which the pourakarmikas will not pick waste indefinitely.
This is the fifth protest in the last three months that has left the city stinking. Pourakarmikas have been protesting against non-payment of salaries among other demands.
On Monday, the city was littered with garbage, especially after Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations this weekend. “We had been to our native for Ganesha Chaturthi. When we returned, we saw that the pourakarmikas had not cleared the garbage. A neighbouring vacant site is filled with waste,’’ Ramamani, a resident of Rajarajeshwari Nagar, said.
The scene is similar at Sampangiramanagar, Chandra Layout, Vasanthnagar, Majestic and Malleswaram and other places. Apart from the stench, this garbage could pose a health risk.
A senior general physician from a BBMP hospital said garbage mixed with rainwater could lead to diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. Balasubramanyam, president of BBMP Garbage Contractors’ Association, told Express that two months ago they had received summons from the I-T department, asking all the contractors to pay service tax. “We appealed to senior BBMP officials but in vain. We have now received another summons. I-T authorities warned us that if we do not pay, they will freeze our bank accounts and file a criminal case against us.”
“On an average, Rs 50 crore is paid to garbage contractors in all BBMP wards every month. If we pay 12.5 per cent as service tax, we won’t be left with much. BBMP says that garbage disposal does not come under the service tax ambit. We want the BBMP to sort this out,” he said.
Sarfaraz Khan, BBMP Additional Commissioner (Health), said they will come to a decision after they receive clarification from the I-T Department. “The I-T Department says any service provider must pay service tax. But we were under the impression that garbage disposal was exempted,” he said.
Garbage mafia to be blamed
Some say garbage mafia is to be blamed for the frequent strikes by pourakarmikas.
N Anjaneya, Secretary to Karnataka State Corporation, Municipality, Town Municipality Pourakarmika Federation, said there are 32,000 pourakarmikas, including at least 3,000 permanent staffers, in BBMP limits.
He said, “Some of the pourakarmikas were told by the contractors not to work on Monday. They are using the pourakarmikas for their benefit.”Pourakarmikas have not been paid salaries for months. This is despite BBMP head office releasing Rs 142 crore to the eight zonal offices. We want the amount to be released to bank accounts of the pourakarmikas rather then to the contractors. The contract system should be abolished. Only then will pourakarmikas get paid,’’ he said.
Clear garbage in city or face protests, BJP tells Congress
Leader of opposition in the BBMP Council Padmanabha Reddy has lashed out at Congress for not making payments to pourakarmikas in the city. As a result, waste wasn’t collected from several areas has not been cleared, Reddy stated in a release. He added that garbage contractors had written to the Mayor on Thursday asking for payment to be made to the pourakarmikas. And since there had been no response to the letter, the contractors protested on Monday by not clearing garbage.
Reddy said Congress’ irresponsibility had caused this and might lead to more cases of Dengue and H1N1. He added that considering the circumstances, the Congress had no right to govern. If garbage wasn’t removed from the areas on a war footing, BJP councillors would hold massive protests.