Gurgaon: Over one-third of the required vehicles for the door-to-door waste collection remain missing, despite repeated warnings.Nearly three weeks after private sanitation agencies were awarded six-month contracts, they continue to operate with significantly fewer vehicles than mandated. Only 369 of the 591 vehicles — 62% — required under the contracts were available on the ground, an MCG inspection found on Wednesday.The inspection was conducted to verify the number of vehicles, their operational condition, and whether agencies deployed resources as stipulated in the tender conditions.The findings show only a marginal improvement from the situation reported by TOI on July 17, when the five agencies had deployed 225 vehicles (38%) after receiving work orders on July 9.In Zone-6, mayor Raj Rani Malhotra inspected the fleet at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, where she found only 42 of the mandated 53 vehicles present. The mayor directed the agency concerned to ensure that the full complement of vehicles is deployed immediately.“If any agency violates the tender conditions or fails to provide the stipulated number of vehicles, penalties will be imposed and strict action, including blacklisting, will be taken,” Malhotra said, adding, “The objective is not merely monitoring but ensuring that every resident receives timely and quality sanitation services.”The slow pace of deployment assumes significance as the city has repeatedly grappled with complaints of irregular garbage collection, with residents in several areas reporting delayed pick-ups and overflowing waste.In some areas, the residents are managing doorstep waste collection on their own by hiring private vendors for the purpose.After the Haryana govt’s high-powered purchase committee (HPPC), chaired by chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, declined to approve the rates quoted by participating agencies for the city’s long-term door-to-door waste collection project, MCG on June 26 reissued the tender to appoint two agencies for the work.The revised cost of the project is Rs 647 crore. The selected agencies will be appointed for an initial period of five years, with the contract extendable by two years at a time for up to four additional years, subject to satisfactory performance and approval from the competent authority.The revised tender divides the city into two clusters of 18 wards each. Cluster-1 will cover around 3.1 lakh establishments, including 2.3 lakh residential units, while Cluster-2 will cater to about 2.7 lakh establishments, of which nearly 2 lakh are residential.MCG officials said that the tender was opened on Wednesday, implying that the bidders can now apply. A technical evaluation of the bids will then follow.
