Nagpur: A committee headed by the additional commissioner of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) will probe complaints of erratic door-to-door garbage collection across the city and examine allegations of irregularities in waste handling and billing.The panel, constituted by Municipal Commissioner Vipin Itankar, has been tasked with reviewing the performance of the city’s two sanitation agencies, Antony Waste Handling Cell and BVG India. The committee has been given 25 days to submit its report, which will subsequently be placed before the NMC General Body.The committee will also investigate allegations that contractors mixed sand and boulders with garbage to inflate collection weights and increase billing amounts. The inquiry will scrutinise service records, citizen complaints and billing data before making recommendations.Officials said the findings would help determine the future of the city’s door-to-door garbage collection system and whether the existing contract model should continue or be replaced.The move comes amid growing criticism of sanitation services from elected representatives. City MLAs, including Central Nagpur MLA Pravin Datke, have repeatedly raised concerns over poor garbage collection. Datke also highlighted the issue during the recent monsoon session of the state legislature, citing overflowing bins and missed garbage pickups in several wards.Corporators have also alleged that both Antony Waste Handling Cell and BVG India failed to provide consistent sanitation services. Citing recurring complaints, the NMC General Body had earlier passed a resolution seeking termination of the contracts of both agencies.Several corporators have also demanded that NMC appoint 10 separate contractors, one for each of the city’s 10 zones, arguing that a decentralised system would improve accountability and monitoring of sanitation work.A senior official from the Solid Waste Management Department said the civic body has imposed penalties of Rs 20 crore each on Antony Waste Handling Cell and BVG India since November 2019 for lapses in door-to-door garbage collection.
