Now, 33 packages to trim Bengaluru’s ‘bulging wastelines’

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has said that 33 packages have been tendered for garbage disposal in Bengaluru.

“We have called for tenders for 33 packages in 28 Assembly constituencies. We have planned gas and power generation from garbage disposal at four places,” the DCM said while replying to a question from MLC Keshava Prasad during Question Hour in the Legislative Council.

“We have acquired land belonging to the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) for waste disposal. KSPCB approval was pending for a waste disposal yard near Doddaballapur. We have got Cabinet approval for the same and are studying advanced technologies for waste disposal,” he said.

Garbage mafia

“It is not possible to break the garbage mafia of Bengaluru easily. The mafia did not allow the previous BJP government either to call for tenders for 98 wards. I have also been fighting this. We have studied waste disposal models in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Our past experiments with generation of power from waste haven’t been successful,” he said.

‘BJP imposed cess on garbage’

Replying to a question on garbage cess, the DCM said, “It was the BJP government in the state which introduced garbage cess in Karnataka in 2020 based on a 2016 order of the Union government. The gazette notification mentions exorbitant taxes. We are collecting only 25 percent of the suggested taxes as we felt it was too high.”

“We are also planning to come out with a new law to ensure upkeep of vacant sites. We have made provision for the public to self-declare the amount of garbage they generate. We have also instructed the police to take strict action against those who litter public places. CCTVs will be fixed at various places in the city and we have already called for a tender,” he added.