Bengaluru: New waste collection contracts are set to begin in four Bengaluru Assembly constituencies by the end of November. Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda has directed officials to complete all preparatory work so that the new door-to-door primary waste collection system starts without disruption in Govindarajanagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Vijayanagar and Chamarajpet. The new contracts are expected to begin in Chickpet constituency in December.
Reviewing the implementation of the new primary waste collection contracts at a meeting at Vikasa Soudha on November 7, the Minister said the rollout must be backed by strict monitoring, GPS-based vehicle tracking and transparent payments. Contractors will be paid only for services verified through GPS data, and vehicles operating without the mandatory tracking system will attract penalties.
The Minister directed that GPS be made compulsory for every vehicle deployed for waste collection. Vehicles without a working GPS system will not be eligible for billing for that day, and contractors who violate the requirement will face penalties. A system-generated billing mechanism will link payments directly to actual vehicle operations instead of manual claims, and city corporation officials have been asked to monitor compliance closely.
Officials were also asked to give a detailed demonstration of the new software, which is already ready, to contractors and departmental staff. The corporation commissioners will supervise the rollout and coordinate among all stakeholders.
The contractors awarded the four packages have already procured vehicles. The Minister told them to finish the required fabrication quickly and put the vehicles into service within November. Every vehicle must carry GPS tracking and be monitored through the VAHAN portal and the invoicing system to verify that it is operating.
He also asked officials to ensure a uniform look and standard across the fleet, with branding and stickers on every vehicle, and to give sanitation workers new uniforms before operations begin. The changeover to the new contracts must be smooth, without confusion or disruption in daily collection, he said.
Calling for a sustained effort against garbage black spots, the Minister directed officials to adopt innovative measures to stop repeated dumping and to act strictly against people who dump waste along roadsides. The focus must be on eliminating black spots rather than only clearing the waste that piles up, he said.
He stressed the need for systematic information, education and communication (IEC) campaigns so that residents know about the new collection arrangements and their own responsibilities, and asked contractors and officials to complete every part of the preparation so that the new system delivers the expected standards from the first day.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has created 33 packages for primary solid waste collection across its jurisdiction. Work orders have been issued for five packages and Letters of Acceptance for 13. The tender process for another 10 packages has been completed and the proposals have been sent to the government for approval. Of the remaining five packages, one is under evaluation, two are before the High Court, one is under appeal, and the tender for the last package will be taken up after a court order.
Officials told the Minister that household surveys had been carried out in the city corporations using a prescribed checklist, and that the findings are being used as the basis for implementing the new contracts.
The meeting was attended by Chief Commissioner Maheshwar Rao, East City Corporation Commissioner D.S. Ramesh, Pommala Sunil Kumar, Shilpa Nag, Ramesh K.N., Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited CEO Karigowda, Additional Commissioner Lokhande Snehal Sudhakar and Chief Engineers Lokesh and Venkata Chalapathi.
The GBA had earlier announced plans for doorstep waste collection under new contracts in five constituencies.
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