BMC act raises a stink
The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been generous towards private firms. It has provided 41 tricycles, meant for waste collection only in wards managed by BMC, to the wards where sanitation work has been privatised.
Seven months back, the corporation had spent close to Rs 12 lakh from its own resources to purchase 200 tricycles at Rs 6,000 per piece.
Presently, the corporation is responsible for sanitation in 20 out of 60 wards in the city.
After receiving a complaint, Chief Financing Officer-cum-Chief Vigilance Officer of BMC probed into the matter and came across the anomaly in the distribution of the tricycles.
According to sources in BMC, 41 tricycles were issued to the private ward numbers 2, 6, 28, 30, 44, 47, 48 and 54. Of the total 200 tricycles, 155 were distributed in 20 wards under BMC and four were kept for other purposes.
Requesting anonymity, a senior official said BMC should not have distributed the tricycles in the wards where sanitation was being managed by private firms.
Chairman of BMC sanitation committee explained that as per the agreement, the private firms should not be given any of BMC resources.
“The idea behind privatising sanitation in 40 wards was to ensure better sanitation since BMC did not have the resources to maintain all the 60 wards itself.
The municipal corporation is also planning to privatise sanitation in 13 more wards from August,” said the official.
Contacted, City Health Officer (CHO) Chandrika Prasad Das said he was not aware of any such distribution. However, the CHO is the monitoring officer and the tricycles are supplied under his supervision only.
“Everything is not done with my approval or supervision. The tricycles were distributed in the privately managed wards after commissioner’s approval.
The store-keeper at BMC should be aware of the details about the distribution,” said Das.
The Capital generates about 400 tonne of solid waste on daily basis.