Mangaluru: After dilly-dallying over the implementation of a new solid waste management system, Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has finally begun the much anticipated door-to-door garbage collection drive, which is expected to keep the city cleaner than before.

Under the new advanced system, which has been taken up by a private agency called Antony Waste Handling Pvt. Ltd., specially designed vehicles have been deployed for garbage collection and disposal. These are expected to  ensure that waste is transported in a totally different way.

There are as many as 55 small tippers, which go door-to-door to collect garbage. The waste collected from these houses is dumped into a compactor – which is bigger modified Lorry. There are 16 compactors which swallow the garbage and compact it in the vast space inside a fully-covered body. Each compactor carries about 10 tonnes of garbage.

No open Lorries to carry garbage

Since the new contractors have deployed hydraulic-operated vehicles for collection of solid waste, the system is likely to put an end to the transportation of solid waste in open trucks.  However, the agency has also hired some open Lorries used by the earlier contractor to lift the garbage accumulated in  roadside bins.

The officials claim that the usage of open lorries would come down once  the door-to-door collection system is stabilized,   as it will automatically stop the dumping of waste in the roadside bins.

Cess on property tax

Henceforth, the public need not pay Rs. 30 to the ‘agency’s personnel for collecting waste, as  used to be case in the earlier system. Instead, the corporation will pay the contractors from the solid waste cess collected from property tax payers.

Earlier, a few households refused to give their waste to the collectors, as they were required to pay. As a result, the waste was thrown on the roadside. However, the new system would compel the agency to collect all the waste, as the contractors are paid only based on the quantity of garbage. Hence, the new system would help to keep the city clean, Mayor Mahabala Marla told newskarnataka.com

Under the new system, the contractor who has appointed 700 persons for the job, will be paid based on the quantity of garbage dumped at the landfill site at Vamanjoor, at a rate of Rs. 3,201 per tonne for waste collected from areas in the north (Surathkal to Mannagudda) and Rs. 2,051 in the South (Derebail to Jeppinamogaru).

Solid waste of 200 tonnes a day is expected in Mangalore. Hence, the civic body is expecting Rs. 15 crore in the form of cess a year.

Cess on residential buildings

Below 500 sq. ft – Rs 240
500-1000 – Rs 480
1000-2000 – Rs 720
Above 2000 sqft – Rs 960
 
Non-residential buildings

Below 500 sq. ft – Rs 600
500-1000 – Rs 1200
1000-2000 – Rs 3600
Above 2000 sqft – Rs 9600

Few disappointed

When the contract for solid waste management system was handed over to Antony Waste Pvt Ltd for a whopping cost of Rs 17 crore, there were high expectations from the public.

However, the vehicles being used for door-to-door collection is not enough. The contractors are also not concentrating on roadside cleaning of dust bins, noted Dayanand Kotian, president of Forum for Justice. 

Grievance redressal

As the system is in its infancy, teething trouble is likely. People are encouraged to call up 0824-4232666 to register their grievances, especially if garbage collectors did not come to their area or roads for collection.

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