BENGALURU: BJP leader CN Ashwath Narayan has strongly criticised the state government for its reported Rs 39,437 crore solid waste management contract for Bengaluru, alleging lack of transparency and financial prudence in awarding the project to a single vendor for 30 years. He said Bengalureans would ultimately bear the burden of the deal and, and it could make citizens pay more than four times the present cost by 2056.
In a statement, Narayan said the Congress-led government approved the contract with a built-in 5% annual escalation clause, which he alleged would increase costs by more than four times by 2056. He accused the government of “locking” Bengaluru residents into a long-term financial burden for garbage collection services.
The former deputy chief minister alleged that the state finance department had raised objections to the proposal and suggested capping the annual escalation at 2.5%, reducing the contract period to 10 years and avoiding a monopoly by a single company.
However, he claimed the government ignored these recommendations and rushed the proposal through as an additional agenda item.
Narayan also alleged that three earlier tender rounds had failed and the current proposal was cleared before ministers had adequate time to scrutinise the file. “When a government ignores its own experts, skips its own committee and approves a sum bigger than many state budgets in a few minutes, that is not governance,” he said.
He also alleged that Bengaluru deserved greater scrutiny, competition and transparency in the tendering process, instead of what he termed “secrecy and a single-vendor arrangement.”
