Mumbai: Amid recurrent criticism over reliance on consultancy firms for supervisory roles, the BMC administration has sought the approval of the civic standing committee to appoint govt-owned PSU RITES as a consultant for the modernisation of five dry waste segregation centres.
Officials from the solid waste management (SWM) department said the consultant, which will be paid about Rs 93 lakh, has the required expertise and has already carried out some work on the project. Citing a shortage of dedicated manpower to oversee its solid waste management projects, BMC said its existing officers are unable to devote their full time to project planning, tendering, quality control and supervision due to their administrative responsibilities.
The saleable material generates revenue for NGOs and ragpickers working at these centres, while the non-saleable material is sent to the Kanjurmarg dumping ground,” said a civic official. Coordinator of NGO Agni Rajkumar Sharma said, “By and large, the waste segregation process has not taken off in the city. “Segregation at these centres is currently being carried out largely by ragpickers manually. BMC intends to mechanise the process by installing baling machines, conveyor systems and segregation units to improve working conditions and speed up the segregation process. The waste will be separated into saleable and non-saleable materials. Congress’s Ashraf Azmi questioned the need for a consultant. “SWM department has a planning wing. Why do you want to appoint consultants for every work? Eventually, BMC will end up outsourcing even basic services. The civic body should look at other countries and try to implement those measures here.”