LMC to revisit pact with EcoGreen

Civic body wants to ensure proper door-to-door waste collection, improve city’s ranking on National Sanitation Index

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) will revisit its agreement with doorto-door waste collection agency EcoGreen next month.

The aim is to improve waste collection and disposal work and improve Lucknow’s ranking on the National Sanitation Index. The state capital has slipped to 121 spot from 115 because of poor waste management, said officials.

“The LMC will have to improve door-to-door waste collection and disposal work in order to improve its ranking. We will have to relate the payment of EcoGreen with the performance of Lucknow on National Sanitation Index. We also want to initiate third party audit of the work done by EcoGreen before making any payment to it,” said a civic official.

Recently, state government released Rs 30 crore to EcoGreen for purchase of equipment and vehicles for cleaning work.

To recall, LMC and EcoGreen had differences over tripping fee (charged by the firm for transporting waste). Consequently, the urban development department started handling payment related issues and appointed a committee to verify the bills and tripping fee of EcoGreen.

Municipal Commissioner Indramani Tripathi said, “From the Rs 30 crore released by the state government, EcoGreen is supposed to purchase 40 portable compactors, 20 hook loaders, four back hook loaders, 205 mini trippers and 300 rickshaw trollies.”

“Third party monitoring of door-to-door waste collection will help improve the system. Now, no garbage will be dumped in the open and the waste will be put into the compactors directly. Supervisors will not be able to give a wrong report of waste collection because a third party will be monitoring the work,” he said.

As per LMC’s records, over 5.21 lakh houses are registered with the LMC for house tax, but waste is collected only from 2.5 lakh houses. And this has led to a slump in Lucknow’s ranking on the National Sanitation Index.

“Unless LMC starts 100% door-to-door collection of waste and its treatment in a scientific way – like in Indore – the LMC cannot improve its ranking,” said Sayyed Yawar Hussain ‘Reshu’, corporator.