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Journalism of Courage
For the past six years, Bhikaji Londhe has been collecting waste door-to-door from homes in Pune’s Viman Nagar area. However, the 36-year-old is now staring at an uncertain future, with a pilot Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) initiative threatening his livelihood.
On September 1, the PMC launched a new waste collection system in the city, mirroring the Indore model. Under this system, waste is collected door-to-door using small vehicles, transferred to larger ones, and directly transported to processing units—bypassing waste collectors like Londhe and eliminating the need for segregation points.
For Londhe, who is a member of Swach, the city’s cooperative of self-employed waste collectors, the news has come as a shock. “All of a sudden, small vehicles are entering the lanes and bylanes of my area. People have stopped giving us waste,” Londhe said, adding that though his wife has a job, “it is not enough”.
By collecting waste from 150 houses in Rajiv Nagar South, Londhe used to get Rs 15,000 a month directly from the citizens (as collection fees) and Rs 7,000-10,000 from selling the segregated dry waste.
Since 2008, thousands of Swach waste collectors have been collecting waste, door to door, for which a collection fee of Rs 90 per month is paid to each worker. The workers segregate the waste, following which it is loaded into garbage trucks for further processing. The workers also sell the dry waste. This model has been globally hailed for integrating the unorganised sector and allowing waste workers to be a part of the system.
However, over the years, the PMC has been receiving complaints of waste being dumped on the roads after workers segregate it. To address these concerns, the PMC decided to launch a pilot project.
Sandeep Kadam, in charge of the PMC’s Solid Waste Management Department, denied that the initiative would impact the livelihood of waste workers. “Around 50 per cent of the houses are still serviced by waste workers,” he added.
Lubna Anantakrishnan, CEO, Swach, however, said the PMC had gone ahead with the pilot initiative without proper consultation and sought more clarity from the civic body. “On September 5, during a meeting between the honourable commissioner and senior labour leader Dr Baba Adhav, municipal corporation officials had assured that waste pickers would be integrated into the new proposed system. However, in reality, the municipal corporation’s vehicles have begun operations, bypassing the waste pickers and snatching away their livelihoods,” she said.
