BSWML flayed for harassment, monopolies and extortion in waste management

The Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP) has strongly condemned Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), accusing the agency of engaging in exploitative and monopolistic practices under the guise of public service. It has alleged that BSWML has arbitrarily imposed a Solid Waste Management (SWM) User Fee on all citizens without first establishing a functional collection infrastructure.

According to the BNP, it is fundamentally unjust to demand payment from residents when the agency has failed to ensure that every ward has the necessary contractors in place to provide efficient and reliable waste execution. BNP has also highlighted the lack of transparency regarding Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs), alleging that BSWML has created an artificial monopoly to facilitate financial extortion.

While policy allows BWGs to use “empanelled vendors,” the party claims that BSWML has bypassed a fair selection process to favour a single vendor, Mukka Proteins. By forcing all generators to use this sole provider, BSWML is reportedly mandating an exorbitant rate of ₹12 per kg, a much higher rate compared to the actual market cost of ₹2–3 per kg.

Srikanth Narasimhan, Founder and General Secretary of BNP, said, “The Deputy CM himself had said that garbage is being controlled by a mafia. However the head of the mafia is the government itself. Citizens are being charged indiscriminately without accountability or proper systems; bulk waste generators are being coerced into working with a single vendor at inflated rates; and municipal powers have been hijacked by the State Government through BSWML. This is not just blatant harassment, but misuse of Government machinery to create monopolies and engage in extortion through them.”

He added, We demand the immediate withdrawal of arbitrary user fees until a transparent, ward-level contractor system is in place. We also urge the government to cancel the monopoly granted to Mukka Proteins and ensure empanelment of multiple vendors to enable fair competition. BNP will continue to fight against this harassment and ensure that waste management is run transparently, fairly, and in the true public interest.

BNP emphasized that Solid Waste Management is constitutionally a municipal subject, but the Government has usurped it through BSWML, turning it into a cash cow. The party argues that this centralized grip translates into financial exploitation, effectively transforming a fundamental municipal duty into a mechanism for systemic harassment and institutionalized extortion.