An investigation by The Hindu has revealed a scam in the disposal of the humungous quantities of waste being generated in the city, with construction debris being passed off as municipal solid waste and contractors potentially swindling huge sums of money by increasing tonnage without actually clearing garbage on the streets.

The business of clearing garbage is among the civic body’s key tasks. No one notices it if the job is well done, but a well-oiled system ensures that the city does not stink, literally, and that it does not turn into a den of diseases and infections.

To facilitate the collection of garbage in the city, the Chennai Coporation decided to tie up with private contractors way back in 2000. Since then, some parts of the city have been cleaned up by private agencies, who receive compensation for every tonne of municipal solid waste that they collect. And there, apparently, is the crux of the issue. Our investigation has revealed that in order to increase their income, employees of the private contractor have, in many instances, replaced municipal waste with construction debris in order to boost the weight and tonnage of the load, and in effect, the compensation owed to them.

The Chennai Corporation pays the private conservancy operator, Chennai Municipal Solid Waste Pvt. Ltd., ₹1,836 per tonne of municipal solid waste collected in areas such as Teynampet, Adyar and Kodambakkam. But the private firm has reportedly been collecting huge quantities of construction debris, mixing it with municipal garbage and increasing the weight of the waste sent to the dump yard. Although the contractor is being engaged in the collection of solid waste as well as construction debris, the latter is supposed to be an independent operation, and shouldn’t involve garbage trucks.

The Chennai Corporation collects 5,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste each day, 40 per cent of which is collected by the private conservancy operator.

Tracking the trucks

On May 26, The Hindu tracked two garbage lorries of the private conservancy operator ChennaiMunicipal Solid Waste Pvt. Ltd and one excavator of the Chennai Corporation (Registration numbers of lorries: TN21 AL 8201 and TN21 AK9614; excavator: TN04 AK 2053).

Around 8.40 a.m., the vehicles reach Omandurar Government Estate in Chepauk. One of the lorries brings around 50 kg (we are told) of garbage from a residential neighbourhood, unloads it near a huge pile of construction debris adjacent to the MLA hostel and prepares to load the construction debris.

Around 8.45 a.m., the excavator starts filling one of the lorries with construction debris. After the vehicle is loaded to the brim, the excavator spreads the garbage on top and conceals the construction debris.

The loaded lorry then reaches Walajah Road, turns right to Victoria Hostel Road, drives straight on Kamarajar Salai along the Marina beach and takes a right turn beyond Light House to reach the transfer station on Karaneeswarar Pagoda Street in Mylapore by 9 a.m. It does not stop anywhere else to collect municipal waste.

Weighing scales don’t lie

The weighing machine at the transfer station showed a reading of 20,380 kg. Even after discounting the weight of the empty vehicle (8,710 kg), the lorry was found to have deposited 11,670 kg (Three times higher than its capacity if it were carrying garbage) of construction debris. Clearly, construction debris has been passed off as municipal solid waste, violating the rules. In a few minutes, the tipper lorry marches out of the transfer station for yet another load.

As per current rates, the private conservancy operator gains ₹21,297 illegally in just 20 minutes on that single trip that involved no garbage clearance at all.

The Corporation workers, including the Conservancy Inspector and his assistant, were found permitting the lorries to unload the construction debris and even weigh the material to include it in the total weight of garbage collected in the city.

Conservancy Inspector Prakasam of the Mylapore transfer station admits that the lorries were not permitted to carry construction debris to the transfer station. Even so, the steady flow of lorries loaded with construction debris continues to record a weight higher than 20,000 kg (20 tonnes) at the weigh bridge on the premises of the transfer station.

Conservancy workers at the transfer station allege that the private conservancy operator was forcing workers to mix construction debris with garbage, paying ₹10,000 as bribe per month to every Conservancy Inspector and his assistants to facilitate inclusion of the construction debris in the tonnage calculation. There is no way of verifying if the bribe was being paid, but Conservancy Inspectors who are at the spot, supervising the garbage clearance operations, may find it hard to miss if lorries meant to carry municipal waste are carrying construction debris instead.

“The Vigilance Department of the Chennai Corporation should investigate the matter. The private conservancy operator should have boosted manpower instead of misleading the State government,” said an employee.

After unloading the construction debris and mixing it with the garbage, each of the lorries return in 30-40 minutes from the transfer station to collect more such construction debris from areas such as Chepauk, Koyambedu and Kodambakkam. A significant proportion of the debris being generated in construction sites across the city are being mixed with municipal solid waste with a view to increasing tonnage.

With illegally-loaded construction debris, each of the lorries that have entered the transfer station over the past few days have deposited around 11 tonnes of construction debris, as per readings recorded from the weighing machine.

After the municipal solid waste is mixed with construction debris, separate vehicles are used to transport the material to the Perungudi dump yard. Garbage clearance records submitted for review by senior Corporation officials include the weight of construction debris and the garbage cleared manually by thousands of conservancy workers on the streets. As a result, senior officials of the civic body have been receiving reports of adequate garbage clearance during review meetings every Saturday, although in reality, it may not be the case.

“The private conservancy operator has been clearing around 1,800-2,000 tonnes of garbage every day,” said a Corporation official.

When contacted, a senior official of Chennai Municipal Solid Waste Pvt. Ltd. claimed that they were not aware that their workers were mixing construction debris with municipal solid waste.

“Our workers have not been authorised to clear construction debris. We will clear only the garbage generated by houses, shops and institutions. The lorries would have been hired by the Public Works Department (PWD). We are collecting around 2,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day from Teynampet, Adyar and Kodambakkam,” he claimed.

“There is a separate contract for clearing construction debris. Our workers have been asked not to include such construction debris for calculation of tonnage,” he added.

‘Will take action’

A senior Corporation official said that action would be taken against those involved in the scam.

Sources say the mixing of construction debris with garbage has been preventing senior officials from identifying the problem of inadequate manpower for private conservancy operations in Chennai.

“Senior officials check only the data on the vehicles, the number of conservancy workers on the rolls, the number of tricycles, the number of bins and the amount of garbage dumped in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur on a daily basis. So, they are unable to identify the actual problem. The number of conservancy workers on the rolls will be lesser than the actual number of workers sweeping the streets and clearing garbage. As a result, garbage clearance is poor in many localities and the quantity of waste being dumped is high in the dump yards. The officials should verify this also,” said an employee.

Conservancy workers of the private conservancy operator said they were receiving wages less than half of what the permanent workers of Chennai Corporation earn. As a result, attrition rate is high and many of the workers have opted for other sources of livelihood. But the senior officials of the civic body have been monitoring the quantity of waste dumped by the private conservancy operator in dumpyards. Owing to the penal provisions and the action taken earlier against Ramky, the private conservancy operator has been asked to focus consistently on the quantity of waste dumped in the dumpyards.

In 2012, the Chennai Corporation took over conservancy operations from the private firm after the civic body received complaints from many residents.

After terminating the contact with the previous conservancy operator, Neel Metal Fanalca, in 2011, the Chennai Corporation handed over the operations to another firm, Ramky Enviro Engineers, which was tasked with cleaning 88 sq km in the three zones of Teynampet, Kodambakkam and Adyar. A special purpose vehicle, Chennai Municipal Solid Waste Pvt. Ltd., set up by Ramky Enviro Engineers, launched operations across the three zones in January 2012.According to records of Corporation Council meetings during successive DMK and AIADMK regimes, many councillors had expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of Neel Metal Fanalca and Ramky Enviro Engineers, and had recommended a gradual withdrawal of the operations because of the “inability of the [private] companies to carry out conservancy operations properly.”

When the Corporation decided to privatise conservancy operations across the city, a number of councillors voiced their opposition to the move. However, the civic body has been cautious about making any decision in this regard due to frequent protests by permanent conservancy workers on the premises of the Ripon Building.

Most of the conservancy workers who join the Chennai Corporation are those who get the job following the death of a relative in harness. “But this number is inadequate. The number of permanent conservancy workers on the rolls of the Chennai Corporation has reduced to less than 9,000. The city needs more than 30,000 conservancy workers,” said an employee.

“Privatisation may improve conditions only if the civic body monitors the operations properly and also provides adequate manpower. We need more conservancy workers who are capable of keeping streets clean. The workers also need orientation. Adequate machinery also has to be procured for the purpose,” said Deva Jawahar, a former councillor.

A timeline of privatisation of conservancy in Chennai