Aafrin Kidwai 
Garbage contractors in Bengaluru are demanding that outstanding bills worth Rs 360 crore must be paid immediately by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), or else they will stop garbage collection from November 5.
Mr Balasubramaniam, General Secretary of the SWM (Solid Waste Management) Garbage Contractors Association told The News Minute that the BBMP had promised to pay outstanding bills in a meeting held on October 19 but has now come up with a new rule for making payments.
In 2019, the BBMP had issued notices to engineers at ward levels to ensure that the garbage contractors have radio-frequency identification (RFID) installed in every auto-tipper deployed for garbage collection.
“The BBMP had told us they were thinking about bringing in this rule. In 90% of the wards, the engineers had not told contractors that RFID devices must be installed. Now, the BBMP is saying they will pay only those who had installed RFID devices. It is now asking engineers to certify that vehicles were running during these months when RFID meters were not installed. During COVID-19 we did door to door collection. If we had not done this then what would have happened?” Mr Balasubramaniam said.
The garbage contractors are slated to meet BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad on Thursday to discuss the issues related to outstanding payments. BBMP sources have reportedly said they will begin reimbursing the money soon.
