Gurgaon: Haryana govt has clarified that contractors engaged in door-to-door waste collection will be required to achieve 95% radio frequency identification (RFID) compliance for billing purposes, addressing concerns raised by agencies implementing municipal solid waste management projects across the state.The clarification was issued during a meeting chaired by urban local bodies minister Vipul Goel following representations from solid waste management (SWM) contractors regarding several operational and payment-related issues.In the city, where agencies have been finalised for doorstep waste collection, the contracts require RFID tags to be installed at all waste-generating units. Payments are linked to digital records generated through RFID-based monitoring, which has become a key component of Haryana’s urban waste collection system.For residents and companies, the change is unlikely to affect the waste collection service itself but gives contractors some flexibility to account for technical glitches, damaged tags, or other situations where waste is collected but an RFID scan is not recorded.Contractors had expressed concern that payments were effectively being tied to 100% RFID scans, resulting in deductions whenever every tagged household or establishment was not recorded in the system, even if waste had been collected. They argued that technical and operational challenges often prevented complete scan coverage despite service delivery.After reviewing the tender conditions, the govt clarified that the requirement under the request for proposal (RFP) is 95% RFID compliance and not 100%. Officials also pointed out that the tender provisions allow GPS-based records to be considered in situations where RFID data is unavailable for valid reasons.A contractor, requesting anonymity, said the process of installing RFID tags itself presents challenges. “Under the agreement, contractors are given up to 90 days from the issuance of a work order to complete RFID installation. Achieving the prescribed compliance level during this period can be difficult, particularly because waste collection staff cannot immediately verify whether RFID data has been successfully captured during collection rounds. Since payments depend on digital records, any failure in data capture creates uncertainty for contractors, despite the service having been performed,” he said.The meeting also addressed the issue of multiple waste-generating establishments operating under a single property identification number. This is a common situation in cities such as the city and Manesar, where several commercial units may function from the same premises.The govt decided that such establishments should be counted separately for payment purposes, subject to verification by municipal authorities. According to officials, this interpretation is consistent with the provisions of the RFP and the representations submitted by contractors.To facilitate establishment-wise implementation, the urban local bodies department’s IT wing will develop an online mechanism on the departmental portal. Approvals will be granted by designated municipal officials, while the directorate will issue a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) outlining the process in line with tender provisions.However, the govt rejected a request to factor weekly offs into the payment structure, reiterating that door-to-door waste collection is an essential civic service that must operate throughout the year. The meeting was convened after contractors submitted a representation highlighting 11 issues related to the implementation of municipal waste management contracts across Haryana.
