Bengaluru
Not-for-profit organisations (NGO) working under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) may come under the scanner of the special investigation team (SIT) constituted by the Karnataka government to probe projects sanctioned by the previous BJP government.
As of now, it appears that the SIT will, among other things, focus on NGOs working in waste management.
According to sources, in the last 3 years, the BBMP has lost revenue in the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) rule.
What is EPR and how does it work?
The EPR policy was introduced under Plastic Waste Management Rules by the Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change.
Producers, importers and brand owners of plastic have the responsibility to treat, reuse, recycle or dispose the products after consumers have used them.
In the absence of such a system, the companies hand over the waste to collection centres, or those who dispose it, for which they have to pay a fee.
If the BBMP were to collect this waste from e-commerce companies, the civic body can claim a fee to segregate, process, co-process, or end the cycle of the plastic or other solid waste. The BBMP has the potential to collect up to ₹100 crore annually through EPR.
How NGOs entered the picture, and cornered a portion of EPR revenue
In 2021, Karnataka government had set up Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) to handle waste in the State capital.
The civic body roped in NGOs as Resource Organisations (RO) to handhold Dry Waste Collection Centre (DWCC) staff, or waste pickers. The DWCCs operate under BSWML. Large companies could hand over waste to the DWCCs.
Ideally, the BSWML should collect EPR fees from large companies.
However, sources in BSWML suspect that some NGOs have set up private companies to tap into the revenue from EPR fee from large companies that hand over waste to the DWCCs, keeping the civic body in the dark.
This alleged practice has led to loss of crores in revenue to the civic body.
According to rough calculations, the BBMP spends about ₹1,800 crore annually on waste management. The civic body is making efforts to streamline the waste management system to tap the revenue emerging from EPR.
However, this was opposed by some vested interests.
A senior BBMP official said, “Six NGOs were chosen as ROs in Bengaluru. The companies allegedly associated with NGOs have not revealed to BSWML the quantum of EPR fee they have managed to collect. All files pertaining to the last three years, including those related to NGOs, will be given to the SIT.”
For solid waste management, a dedicated SIT comprising four members and headed by IAS officer Ujwal Kumar Ghosh was set up.
Nalini Shekhar, executive director and co-founder of Hasiru Dala, an NGO working with DWCCs, said, “BBMP does not understand what EPR is. Let them (SIT) investigate the matter. We have nothing to hide.”
