BJP demands probe into new garbage tenders; CM calls LoP ‘mouthpiece for garbage mafia’
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar
The fresh garbage tenders for Bengaluru led to the first face-off between new Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly R Ashok on Wednesday. While Mr Ashok had lodged a complaint with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and the Karnataka Lokayukta about an alleged “fraud of ₹39,000 crore with a kickback of ₹10,000 crore” in the new Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) tenders and demanded that he become an investigator, he said, “Mr Ashspoke attacked Mr Shivakumar of the mafia”.
Mr. Ashok claimed that the offer was submitted to the government and approved just before Siddaramaiah stepped down as chief minister. He claimed that “the tender was approved allegedly under pressure from the ‘high command’ even though about 10 ministers protested”.
However, Mr. Shivakumar asked why garbage tenders could not be called during the BJP era. “Their (BJP) own MLAs told us that garbage tenders were not allowed for the last 10-12 years. They all went to court. Finally, the court ruled that the government’s decision was right,” he said, adding that MLAs were indulging in extortion politics over garbage. “Arvind Limbavali has completely stopped garbage collection. Due to pressure from MLAs, we have given a grant of ₹800 crore,” he said.
“Vendor to invest ₹6,000 crore”
The city-wide comprehensive SWM collection, processing and disposal contracts 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, is reportedly bagging them for 30 years, renewable for another five years, at a total cost of about ₹39,000 crore. The company will invest nearly ₹ 6,000 crore and set up waste treatment parks on land provided by the state government, Mr. Shivakumar said. “Gas and electricity must be generated from waste. Earlier, we gave permission to 14-15 companies to generate energy from waste. Not one of them succeeded. I visited Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai to study the matter before deciding,” he said.
Mr Ashok claimed that the gratuity charge per tonne of waste, currently ₹260, will rise to ₹2,400, a 950% increase. However, officials said this was misleading. They said the current gratuity fee is only for waste collection and transportation and under the new contract, the company will also be responsible for waste treatment in the parks it will invest and build, the official said.
FD’s objections
However, Mr. Ashok further pointed out that several objections were raised by the finance department, including that both the packages were awarded to the same firm, the 30-year duration of the contract and the 5% annual gratuity fee escalation, which were apparently overruled.
The finance department recommended reducing the period to 10 years and escalation to 2.5%, warning that otherwise it would become a huge burden in future, he said. He added that consultant RITES Ltd. for DPR initially estimated the tip fee at ₹1,398 per tonne but later revised it to ₹2,151 per tonne based on recommendations attributed to consultants, an increase of over 53%.
Ready to face the probe
While the BJP demanded an independent and time-bound inquiry into the entire ISWM tender process, Chief Minister Mr. Shivakumar said he was ready to face any tender inquiry. “Wherever they file a report. Let alone ₹36,000 crore – even if ₹10 crore is misused, let them investigate. I am ready to face it,” he said.
Published – 10 June 2026 20:20 IST