Garbage contractor booked for spreading stench

BENGALURU: A garbage contractor who failed to deploy the stipulated number of vehicles to collect garbage in

Jalahalli ward

,

northwest Bengaluru

, has been booked for cheating, rendering the atmosphere dangerous for health and negligence which can lead to

life-threatening diseases.

Jalahalli police have invoked IPC sections 420 (cheating), 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health) and 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) against representatives of BVG India Ltd, the garbage contractor.

The ward generates six tonnes of garbage daily. Residents have been alleging that with a few vehicles operating, garbage was being dumped at vacant sites in the ward.

In his complaint, assistant executive engineer (solid waste management cell) of Rajarajeshwari Nagar, MR Gurukumar, said the contractor failed to follow the norms despite warnings.

According to police, the company is working with BBMP since 2012 and was contracted to use eight auto-tippers and two compactors to dispose of solid waste. However, it was found that they were using only four auto-tippers and one compactor. Several warnings to the contractor failed to yield the desired result.

The complaint was lodged on January 16 after the joint commissioner and the ward corporator found during a surprise inspection that no vehicles were deployed for garbage disposal.

Gurukumar told TOI they issued several notices before filing the complaint. “We’ve been receiving complaints from the public that door-to-door garbage collection was not being done properly. We issued notice and when they didn’t reply, we eventually filed a complaint with police and wrote to the BBMP commissioner to cancel the contract,” he said.
No payment for months: Contractor
Ironically, the company also said it has been urging the BBMP to annul the contract and relieve it of the contractual obligations.

Prasanna Shastri, chief operating officer (south) of BVG India Ltd, said several requests to the Palike to annul the contract have been ignored. Denying BBMP’s allegations, Shastri said the company hasn’t received any payment for eight months. “We’ve been producing bills at the end of every month but to no avail,” he added.

Gurukumar, however, said no bills have been raised by the company. He said the BBMP has made alternative arrangements and garbage is being disposed of properly.