Can govt issu contract e issued for solid waste management without ready landfills? questions DCM

Bengaluru, July 19: Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister D K Shivakumar today summarily dismissed allegations of issuing contracts to blacklisted firms for solid waste management in Bengaluru and said no contracts have been issued yet.

Speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence, he said, “The landfills on the outskirts of the city have not been identified yet. Then how can we issue contracts to companies to manage solid waste, let alone blacklisted companies.”

Asked about giving solid waste management contracts for a sum of Rs 94,000 crores for 30 years to certain blacklisted companies, he said, “A union minister has alleged that I have taken a bribe of Rs 15,000 crore to issue contracts for solid waste management. The media has reported it too, but it is completely baseless.”

“We are struggling to identify lands for landfills. Without landfills, where is the question of giving contracts to any firm? The issue is also in the court as waste disposal at Mandur has stopped for the last three days. We are looking for an alternative site. We are in talks with Nice organisation for the same,” he said.

“Two to three sites landfills must be moved out of Bengaluru. We visited a few other states to study how the landfill system works. We will discuss the issue of landfills with the Chief minister and place it before the Cabinet before taking a decision. The people who were doing solid waste management business without tendering process are feeling bad that processes are being introduced and followed now,” he said.

Discussions with CM on Bengaluru projects:
Asked about the meeting with the CM on Bengaluru development, he said, “We have proposed many things for Bengaluru. We need to discuss the projects with the ministers from Bengaluru before placing them before the Cabinet. We need to discuss suggestions that have come through Brand Bengaluru initiative for projects such as Peripheral Ring Road, solid waste management, flyovers, taxation, new road development, etc. I can’t take decisions on these all by myself, need to involve everyone concerned.”

Asked about good rains in the State, “It is not raining everywhere. But the rains have certainly eased the situation with Tamil Nadu.”

Will uphold Kannada pride:
Asked about the new legislation to provide reservation for Kannadigas in private companies, he said, “The Congress party is committed to uphold the pride of Kannadigas in Karnataka. Our government has been working for Kannada and Kannadigas including making Kannada mandatory in name boards and reservation for Kannadigas. This job reservation legislation is another step in that direction.”

Asked about opposition for the legislation from many industrialists including Kiran Majumdar Shaw and Mohan Das Pai, he said, “The government will not interfere in technology jobs, they will get exemptions. I can’t discuss these issues when the session is going on. All these aspects will be discussed in the session.”

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