Chennai: Stiff fines in Koyambedu market's new waste collection tender

CHENNAI: The Market Management Committee (MMC) has floated a fresh tender to appoint an agency for collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste at the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC), introducing stringent penalty clauses to ensure continuous cleanliness at one of the city's largest wholesale markets.

The one-year contract covers daily collection of waste from the flower, fruit, vegetable and food grain markets, cleaning of common areas, shopping streets, truck bays and internal roads, besides transporting the waste to the designated transfer station and the Greater Chennai Corporation landfill.

The contractor's performance will be reviewed every six months, and the contract can be extended by up to two more years based on satisfactory performance. However, the agreement can be terminated midway if the agency fails to maintain the prescribed service standards.

The tender links the contractor's monthly payments to key performance indicators, including cleanliness standards, deployment of workers and vehicles, water washing, and the quantity of waste transported. If service efficiency falls below 60%, the contract will be terminated, and the contractor will forfeit the security deposit and any pending payments.

The MMC has prescribed monetary penalties for several lapses. The contractor will be fined Rs 5,000 for the first instance of unloading waste at an unauthorised location, transporting waste from outside the project area without approval, or failing to operate the road-sweeping vehicle. The penalty will increase to Rs 10,000 for every subsequent violation.

Failure to maintain a zero-garbage condition at the transfer station will attract a penalty of Rs 500 per tonne per day, while not spraying disinfectant on outgoing waste vehicles will invite a fine of Rs 500 for each default.

Transporting unauthorised debris or commercially valuable materials in waste vehicles will attract a penalty of Rs 5,000 per trip. The contractor will also be fined Rs 1,000 for failing to attend the MMC office every day to receive complaints and operational instructions.

Failure to provide uniforms and personal protective equipment to cleanliness workers will attract a penalty of Rs 100 per worker per day for the first violation and Rs 500 per worker per day for repeated violations.

The tender also states that if the contractor fails to remove accumulated waste, the MMC can engage another agency to carry out the work, recover the entire cost from the contractor and impose additional penalties. Any damage caused to market infrastructure during cleaning operations will also have to be repaired at the contractor's expense, apart from attracting fines.