Gurgaon: More than two weeks after Haryana’s high-powered committee (HPPC), chaired by CM Nayab Singh Saini, declined to approve rates quoted by participating agencies, MCG on Friday restarted the process to appoint two agencies for the city’s door-to-door waste collection project.The revised project estimate stands at Rs 647 crore, up from Rs 606 crore earlier, primarily due to a revision in minimum wages. At its June 9 meeting, HPPC directed MCG to invite fresh bids with updated wage calculations at the earliest, and decided that revised administrative approval would be granted at the time of rate approval.The project divides the city into two clusters of 18 wards each. Cluster 1 will cover around 3.1 lakh establishments, including 2.3 lakh residential units; Cluster 2 will cater to about 2.7 lakh establishments, of which nearly 2 lakh are residential. Selected agencies will be appointed for an initial five-year period, extendable by two years and then by a further two years, subject to satisfactory performance and competent authority approval.HPPC also ordered significant changes to the request for proposal (RFP) to encourage competition. It directed deletion of the eligibility clause requiring bidders to have prior experience in designing, constructing, operating and maintaining transfer stations. A clause mandating agreements with biogas processing or organic waste treatment facilities — along with deployment of dedicated wet-waste vehicles — was also removed. The panel further struck down a provision allowing the selected contractor to sell collected recyclable waste and retain the revenue.“We have floated the tender again and will soon complete the process,” said MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya.Gurgaon’s waste management has remained in disarray since June 2024, when MCG terminated its contract with Ecogreen Energy over poor performance. Since then, the civic body has relied on temporary arrangements and short-term contractors, with residents repeatedly reporting irregular garbage collection and deteriorating sanitation. The ULB department has revised the RFP multiple times over two years as authorities struggled to finalise a long-term model.“The govt has been overly cautious in finalising this matter. The decision-making process was slow, inconsistent and highly questionable. After such a prolonged delay, one would expect the system to be streamlined and seamless. This prolonged indecision has reflected poorly on the govt — the issue raises broader concerns about governance and administrative efficiency,” said Gauri Sarin, founder of citizens’ group Making Model Gurgaon.
