Nod for outsourced waste collection likely today

Chennai: Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will place a long-pending proposal for the privatisation of solid waste management in Zones 5 and 6 before the council on Wednesday. The contract was awarded to Urbaser Sumeet after more than a year of delay. Once the council approves the proposal, work is expected to begin next week.

"Urbaser is the lowest bidder. We have also added clauses to manage beaches from Thiruvottiyur to Uthandi, including Marina, Besant Nagar, and Thiruvanmiyur," said GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran. He added that the contractor will deploy staff throughout the day to maintain beach cleanliness.

The privatisation plan was discussed last year but was not finalised by GCC. Covering Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar zones, the project will cost 2,963.7 crore over 10 years. The contractor will be paid 50% as a fixed amount and the remaining 50% based on performance. The move is expected to be more cost-effective than having GCC manage waste directly. At present, the two zones generate 1,244 tonnes of waste daily.

"It is a good move to privatise the contract. The corporation was lethargic in cleaning and segregating wet and dry wastes," said R Ramesh, a civic activist from Royapuram.