The Guwahati Municipal Corporation’s (GMC) push for self-sustainability has been criticised by the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in collecting garbage.
The NGOs involved in waste disposal collect garbage from the doorsteps of the people on behalf of the GMC. They have opposed the move of the corporation to make a collection of monthly user charges from the households and commercial establishments by the NGOs mandatory. The corporation is not going to provide additional funds and subsidies for doorstep garbage collection to the NGOs from now on.
There are 90 NGOs in the 31 wards of the city. GMC Commissioner, Ghanshyam Das, on Friday, called a meeting and informed the NGOs about the new rule to be implemented soon.
The NGOs were expected to collect Rs 30 from each residential house and Rs 20 to Rs 100 from commercial establishments per month. The GMC had hired 58 new NGOs in September 2017 for door to door garbage collection in all 31 wards.
The move comes as a part of the government of India's push involving garbage collection at source. Earlier, in a pilot project, 31 NGOs for 31 wards were hired and were paid user charge collection. It was later extended to 90 NGOs covering all the wards. All these NGOs are paid by the GMC based on a tender, which is valid for two years. The municipal board is now planning to halt the funding and have asked the NGOs to rely only on the customer charges they would collect. The GMC has also assured that the pending dues will be cleared to the NGOs.
NGOs oppose GMC’s plan
The NGOs have opposed the move by the GMC to halt the payment and rely only on the customers. As per sources, a few NGOs have already submitted a letter to the Commissioner mentioning that they are going to discontinue garbage collection work if the decision is not withdrawn immediately.
The NGOs use tricycles, thelas, hydraulic-mounted trailer auto tippers, etc for the collection of household and commercial establishment’s wastes. They have cited severe losses will affect the aforementioned services that cater to the needs of the citizens. G Plus spoke to Binita Bora of the Pragati Singha NGO who stated a plethota of problems plaguing the NGOs. "It has gone extremely difficult after the COVID-19 situation. People don’t want to pay us the money. They even say we pay the tax to GMC, we won't pay you," added Bora.
As per sources, various shops on the GS Road area have consistently refused to pay to the NGOs and instead throw garbage on the road. This, in the end, has to be cleared up by the NGOs.
Further, rent owners with commercial establishments too have avoided paying up. "There are owners have more than five-six rent houses but will pay us only for one house," said a NGO owner. The subdued household collection has affected the NGOs in their revenues.
G Plus spoke to the waste collectors who brave the streets of Guwahati to collect the garbage from the residents.
"We are collecting wastes everyday but the residents give us a hard time when it comes to paying up. Now, with GMC cutting the funding, I wonder how we will be paid by the NGOs," said Rafiqul Ali, who is waste collector in Ulubari.
The NGOs have also alleged that GMC has defaulted in funding them by delaying payments. They have also questioned GMC's decision to suspend the payments. "We have a tender for two years, how can they suspend the payment in between?" said a NGO owner under anonymity.
Following the COVID-19, additional charges have taken a toll on the NGOs. Masks, protective gears as well maintenance for the automobiles have overburdened the NGO proprietors.
"If I am investing Rs 1.5 lakhs and I am collecting only Rs 40,000 without GMC paying me the monthly bill, how will I pay my workers?" added the NGO owner.
GMC VS NGO: Who is more accountable?
The GMC VS NGO tussle has been going on for some time. Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), in its bid to keep the city clean more effectively and efficiently, has launched a software on “Public Feedback regarding Garbage Collection of NGOs”. The software was launched by Guwahati Development Department (GDD) Minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharya.
After the initiative, six contracts of NGOs have already been terminated by the GMC on the basis of public feedback on their performances.
The executive engineer of GMC, Manojit Bujarbaruah, has further criticised the NGOs for being casual in their approach in waste collection. He clarified the intention of the GMC project as an attempt to establish “sustainability.” As per the feedback received from the residents, the GMC has faced several problems. “The name NGO means you have to volunteer,” added Bujarbaruah.
The GMC has contradicted the NGO’s stand that the municipal body has not been able to enforce strict action on defaulters. The GMC is set to undergo inventory survey format to tackle the problem department-wise. “If they are not paying us money, we will cut off their water supply line and even take measures against their property through the different departments,” said Manojit Bujarbaruah.
A senior official, under the condition of anonymity, even alleged that the NGOs do not pay the salary to the workers on time.
