Waste management bungled up Segregated dry and wet waste again mixed up by private collectors

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Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s waste management policy of handing over transfer stations at Nagole, Yusufguda and Patancheru to the concessionaire Hyderabad Integrated Municipal Solid Waste has again met with stiff resistance from union leaders.

GHMC has to hand over transfer station management, transportation and treatment of waste to the concessionaire, in a phased manner, as per an agreement made in 2009.

“The agreement with the private concessionaire makes it binding on the municipal corporation to hand it over to them or invite litigation,” says Mr Srinivas Reddy, executive engineer with the solid waste management department. “Once the private player is given the job, the job of the municipal corporation will be to supervise and see that waste management is duly carried out. Currently, we are in the transition stage where completion of the process will help achieve desired results.”

Other civic officials say the transition process is taking time because of opposition from labour unions and policy paralysis.

A classic example is the failure to segregate wet and dry waste at the household level.

■ GHMC OFFICIALS say already 70 per cent of private vehicles are collecting waste from various centres and transporting it to transfer stations.

■ UNION LEADER U. Gopal has threatened strike over privatisation.

“The wet and dry waste segregation has not taken off because residents separate it but the one who collects the same mixes it during collection,” a senior official of the solid waste management department said. “What motivation are we offering residents who see this being done to their painstaking efforts? Despite so much of training, it is failing at the very beginning. Had the wet waste been composted, the dry waste could have been distributed among rag pickers, but this is not happening.”

Another problem is that of privatisation. Municipal officials shift the blame, saying it is the job of the concessionaire. With neither completely handing over or carrying out partial handover in an efficient manner, GHMC has bungled in managing municipal waste.

“We now have the latest technology in terms of machines, but because of these technical issues of handing over, neither the municipal authorities nor private concessionaires are able to invest,” said another officer. “But this has led to culmination of problems and created a vicious cycle.”

GHMC officials say already 70 per cent of private vehicles are collecting waste from various centres and transporting it to transfer stations and dump yards. The system does not have permanent municipal employees and those who are remaining are a very small number. But union leader U. Gopal has threatened strike saying many workers will be rendered jobless.