Bengaluru garbage disposal under scanner as Lokayukta seeks report

3 min readBengaluruJun 13, 2026 01:31 PM IST

Contractors responsible for garbage clearance are allegedly not working effectively in many areas of Bengaluru. (Representative Image)

The Karnataka Lokayukta has sought a report from the state government on the working of the garbage disposal system in the five corporations of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) in the wake of findings that contractors responsible for garbage clearance are not working effectively in many areas of the city.

“The Hon’ble Lokayukta has directed the Chief Secretary to the Government, Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bangalore Authority, Commissioners of all the 5 Municipal Corporations of Bangalore, Chief Executive Officer of the Solid Waste Management Corporation and other officers to personally appear on 28/7/2026 and submit a report…” the Lokayukta said in an official statement this week.

“The responsibility of garbage disposal in Bangalore city was entrusted to contractors in 2018-19, and no contract has been called for thereafter. Subsequent responsibilities are being given to the tenderers who were given contracts earlier based on the price list,” the Karnataka Lokayukta observed.

“The contractors who have been given the contract have not deployed sufficient auto-rickshaws for garbage disposal each day. About 200 to 300 autos have not been provided for duty every day. When asked for an explanation from the concerned officers in this regard, they have stated that they have issued notices to the concerned contractors and imposed penalties,” the quasi-judicial body further stated.

The Karnataka Lokayukta added that the garbage disposal system in Bengaluru city was hampered on account of the municipal authorities being completely dependent on private contractors and the lack of alternative arrangements.

It was observed that in other cities of Karnataka and the rest of India, waste disposal is handled by the city corporation itself.

Solid waste management contract

The Lokayukta’s directives also came amid a row over a Rs 40,000 crore Bengaluru solid waste management contract set to be awarded for a 30-year period to a private service provider. The Opposition BJP has alleged corruption to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore in the form of kickbacks to the Congress government.

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The BJP has alleged discrepancies in the tender, highlighting that the tipping fees for primary and secondary collection, transportation, processing, and disposal charges were initially estimated to be Rs 1,398 per tonne.

“Thereafter, the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited approved tipping fees of Rs 2,565 per tonne for the North Package and Rs 2,151 per tonne for the South Package, reflecting increases of approximately 83 per cent and 53 per cent respectively over the original estimate,” the BJP said in a petition this week to Governor Thawarchand Gehlot.

The petition accused the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited of relaxing several tender conditions with an apparent objective of qualifying bidders earlier declared to be ineligible.

“Among the technically qualified bidders, Delhi MSW Solutions Limited is reportedly a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ramky Group and emerged as the L-1 bidder,” it said, adding that Ramky had come under fire over its management of the Mavallipura landfill project.

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The BJP has sought a probe into the relaxation of tender conditions, revisions made to the DPR, and tipping fee calculations, and demanded that no final approval or award of contract is granted until till then.