VMC to rope in A2Z again for waste plant project

Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) would send a new proposal to the ministry of urban development to give the contract for completing remaining work on the Karsada solid waste plant project back to Gurgaon-based private group A2Z. It may be recalled that the group was awarded the project some years ago and in August 2012 it withdrew from the project after completing 75 percent of the work owing to some dispute. Now, the civic body again decided to rope in A2Z to complete the project as it feels it would not put any additional burden on the treasury. The civic body is learnt to have received assurance from the group that it would not repeat its past mistakes. According to the proposal, the group would be responsible for management and disposal of the solid waste. The door-to-door collection of the garbage and its transportation to Karsada plant will be managed by the VMC. The corporation would ask the group would have to complete the pending work in three-and-a-half months. However, the municipal commissioner said that all legalities would be looked into before formally handing over the project to the private group. In 2008, the Rs 48.67 cr worth project was proposed and sanctioned under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). A public-private partnership (PPP) in solid waste management (SWM) between the VMC and the A2Z Group started in Varanasi in 2009.