Tamil Nadu cancels waste management tender for Tambaram and 11 other corporations

The Tamil Nadu government has cancelled a ₹4.05-crore tender to appoint consultants for preparing a Detailed Feasibility Report (DFR) to overhaul solid waste management contracts across 12 municipal corporations, including Tambaram. The cancellation, announced recently, followed public backlash and widespread confusion over the tender, which was perceived by many as a new attempt to privatise waste management operations.

The tender had been floated earlier this month through the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL). It aimed to develop a fresh framework for sanitation contracts as the existing three-year outsourced conservancy agreements near their completion.

According to an official from the Corporation, solid waste management in Tambaram and the other 11 municipal corporations had already been privatised in 2022. The official clarified that no new geographical zones or civic wards were being handed over to private players under the new proposal, but the recently floated tender for the DFR was misconstrued.

To clear the confusion and address the backlash, the state government decided to scrap the tender. The state now plans to review the existing waste management system, identify current operational gaps, and introduce necessary improvements in due course.

The 12 municipal corporations covered under the cancelled proposal include Tambaram, Avadi, Kancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Tiruchi, Madurai, Tirunelveli, and Thoothukudi.

An official previously noted that some of the conditions in the regional tenders floated in 2022 were "very loose," relying largely on manpower deployment and garbage tonnage metrics. The proposed framework under the cancelled tender was intended to tighten monitoring of private agencies. It aimed to link contractor payments and penalties directly to performance indicators. These indicators included timely waste collection, the maintenance of public toilets, and the deployment of conservancy workers for night cleaning operations.