BJP lodges complaint with Governor, Lokayukta over garbage tenders in Bengaluru

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The new garbage tenders for Bengaluru led to the first face-off between the new Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly R. Ashok on Wednesday. While Mr. Ashok lodged a complaint with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and Karnataka Lokayukta alleging a “₹39,000 Crore scam with a ₹10,000 Crore kickback” in the new Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) tenders and demanded a probe, Mr. Shivakumar hit back, saying Mr. Ashok had become a “spokesperson for the garbage mafia”.

Mr. Ashok alleged that the tender was brought to the Cabinet and approved just before Siddaramaiah resigned as Chief Minister. He claimed that “the tender was approved allegedly under pressure from the 'high command’ even as around 10 Ministers protested”.

However, Mr. Shivakumar asked why garbage tenders could not be called during the BJP’s time. “Their [BJP’s] own MLAs have told us that garbage tenders were not allowed to be called for the past 10-12 years. They moved court for everything. Finally, the court ruled that the government's decision was correct,” he said, adding MLAs were indulging in blackmail politics over garbage. “Arvind Limbavali had stopped garbage transportation altogether. We gave a grant of ₹800 crore due to pressures from MLAs,” he said.

Contracts for end-to-end SWM collection, processing and disposal for the entire city have been split into two packages — North and South — and the same firm, Delhi MSW Solutions Limited, said to be a subsidiary of the Ramky Group, has reportedly bagged them for 30 years, extendable by another five years, totalling about ₹39,000 crore. The company will invest nearly ₹6,000 crore and build waste processing parks on land provided by the State government, Mr. Shivakumar said. “Gas and electricity must be produced from waste. Previously, we had given permission to 14–15 firms to produce energy from waste. Not a single one succeeded. Before taking this decision, I visited Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai to study the