TRIAL AND ERROR IN PRIVATISATION IN HYDERABAD 101
Use of vehicles
It is interesting to observe that a large majority (90 percent) of the contractors hire their
truck. None of them have purchased a truck when they started to work in solid waste
collection. Despite the preference of the MCH for contractors who own their own
truck, most contractors consider the purchase of a truck economically unviable, even
if it is more than 20 years of age. The contractors who own a truck have used it for
other purposes, either for transportation or for renting it out. According to the contract
conditions the trucks of the contractors should be less than 15 years of age. However,
in reality most trucks are much older. The average age of the trucks in use by the
contractors is 27 years; 52 percent of the trucks is older than 25 years^4. Again this can
be attributed to the law of economics: newer trucks are simply too expensive.
The contractors have made different arrangements with truck owners Some contrac-
tors only hire a truck, while others hire a truck as well as a driver and petrol. The
amount that the contractors spend on renting a truck ranges from Rs 9,000 to over Rs
30,000 per month, depending on the type of arrangement, (with or without driver and
petrol), the age and condition of the truck. In case the truck breaks down the contractor
is responsible for replacement.
Whereas all the trucks of the MCH are provided with hydraulic lifting devices, the
trucks of the contractors usually have to be unloaded manually. From this point of
view one could argue that private sector participation, contrary to the general belief,
has led to a reduction in productive efficiency^5 , not to mention the decline in working
conditions.
Networking and co-operation
The degree of co-operation among the contractors is limited. Although they often
come across each other at the Ward or Circle Office where they submit their bill, they
do not really engage in mutual exchange of equipment or joint buying of materials.
Only a few contractors indicated that they occasionally provided lime powder (for
disinfecting the dustbins) or rented a truck to colleagues, often after a request from the
Sanitary Supervisor. Nevertheless, the contractors see themselves primarily as a
unified business community rather than a disjointed group of competitors All the
participating contractors are members of the Private Contractors Association (PCA).
- This figure was based on a list provided by MCH specifying the equipment of 44 contractors working
in circle 4 and 5. - In addition, vehicles of the private contractors are excluded from the use of the transfer stations. They
are supposed to bring their waste directly to the dumpsites. This is another negative effect on effi-
ciency. Finally, whereas the MCH uses a variety of vehicles each specifically suited to the require-
ments of various parts of the city, the private contractors overwhelmingly use one type of vehicle, the
open truck. All these ‘qualities’ attest to the comparatively poor environmental record of privatised
solid waste collection in Hyderabad.