CMC stinks of waste

Among the many issues concerning Meethotamulla are the alleged steps taken by the then CMC Commissioner and senior officials, to abuse their powers regarding many decisions taken about the dump site.

One such example is an alleged attempt to procure an odour control chemical to control the smell that emanated from the garbage dump site. On March 13, 2017, a month before the Meethotamulla dump collapsed, a company named United Glass Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (UGLPL), based in Nugegoda, had approached the CMC with a proposal to use their product Rydall OE to control the odour from the dump. The Director of the CMC’s Waste Management Division had presented the project proposal to the CMC’s Finance Committee.

UGLPL had allegedly cited the names and contact numbers of 4 University lecturers as recognised experts in this field, who can be contacted to vouch for the efficacy of the product.

The Sunday Times is in possession of an internal document signed by CMC Treasurer K.D. Chitrapala, which notes that, when he contacted the lecturers, they had all stated they were unaware of such a product and had not endorsed it, nor given permission to UGLPL to use their names in the proposal.

The CMC Treasurer had also observed that, UGLPL had stated in its proposal, that it was up to the user to determine the suitability of the product and that, UGLPL would not take any responsibility for it. As such, he had recommended the proposal be rejected on the grounds that UGLPL had provided false information.

UGLPL, however, had written to the CMC Commissioner on March 23, 2017, withdrawing its proposal on ‘ethical grounds’. Nevertheless, the CMC’s Finance Committee had still decided on March 28, 2017, to call for tenders to purchase the product.

On April 25, 2017, soon after the dump’s collapse, the proposal had been taken up again by the Director of the Waste Management Division and the CMC Commissioner, claiming that, both the President and Prime Minister were making inquiries about the product. Again, it had been decided to purchase the product from UGLPL. The Commissioner had allegedly overruled the Treasurer's protests. Nevertheless, the product had not been purchased.

Meanwhile, the Chief Accountant (Procurement) had subsequently purchased the product from UGLPL, in clear violation of government procurement guidelines. At that stage, UGLPL was not even a registered supplier with the CMC, the document claims.

When contacted, UGLPL Managing Director Bandara J. Batuwewegedara, acknowledged they had initially made an unsolicited proposal and used the names of the lecturers in their original proposal without their consent, but insisted that UGLPL had only stated that the CMC could utilise their knowledge to get an independent opinion on the product’s effectiveness.

He further claimed the product had been successfully used at several dump sites, including the Balangoda Urban Council and at the Karadiyana dump.