TRIAL AND ERROR IN PRIVATISATION IN HYDERABAD 99
agricultural communities, which can be classified under the forward communities^2.
The remaining 10 percent of the contractors are Muslim. Among the interviewed
contractors three are female. All of these work under the umbrella of a women
co-operative society. Almost one third of the contractors was born in Hyderabad
whereas the others were born in one of the neighbouring districts. However all the
contractors were born in Andhra Pradesh. Most contractors are well educated. Only 15
percent of them has no or a maximum of a few years of primary education, whereas
52 percent has at least a bachelor degree.
In the literature describing the antecedents of contractors in solid waste collection
services, it seems that they are often engaged in truck-related activities such as trans-
portation and construction work (Cointreau-Levine, 1994; Coad, 1997; Broekema,
1998). In Hyderabad, however, the contractors constitute a rather heterogeneous
group performing a broad array of different activities with a strong variation in
dependence on solid waste collection activities. Among the interviewed contractors,
for instance, there were civil contractors, labour contractors, real-estate agents and
small-scale factories. Some of the contractors can be labelled ‘unconventional’ since
they are Labour Contract Societies^3. On the instigation of the state government the
MCH enabled these organisations to apply for a number of contracts. Most of them are
co-operative societies for women, but also various welfare organisations of the labour
unions are participating (see box below). Although these organisations are labelled
co-operative societies, in reality they operate under exactly the same conditions as the
purely private contractors
- These agricultural communities can be considered as the traditional ruling class in Andhra Pradesh.
Until recently they have also dominated the political spectrum in the state. - A Labour Contract Society primarily aims to provide and secure employment to its members
Box 5.1. A Co-operative society in solid waste collection
Labour Welfare Organisation of the MCH Employees Union
The MCH Employees Union is a labour union affiliated to the CITU that, in turn, is politically linked to
the CPI(M) the communist (Marxist) party. Its labour welfare organisation is involved in solid waste col-
lection since 1998. As a Labour Contract Society it is exempted from paying EMD. The organisation
claims to provide employment to the children of retired and current MCH labourers, since they do no
longer have the opportunity to enrol in MCH-service. There is a certain degree of controversy with the
other unions about their participation in Hyderabad’s solid waste collection services, ranging from prin-
cipal objections to becoming an employer to accusations of profit sharing among leaders The union
claims that no profits are made due to deductions and additional costs, i.e. management expenditure.