Bengaluru garbage contractors accuse BSWML of harassment, delay in payments
Warn of service disruption in city
Bengaluru: The Bangalore Mahanagara Swachahte Matthu Lorry Malikara Hagoo Guthigedarara Sangha, representing garbage contractors and lorry owners, has levelled serious allegations against senior officials of the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd. (BSWML), accusing them of harassment, non-payment of dues, and arbitrary deductions.
In a strongly worded letter to BSWML, the contractors warned that the continued delay in payments and unaddressed grievances could soon force them to stop work—potentially triggering a major garbage crisis in the city, as reported by The Hindu on Monday.
The union alleges that BSWML’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) were ignoring contractors and directly issuing instructions to Assistant and Deputy General Managers. The letter accuses the officials of acting out of “selfish motives and personal desires” rather than working in the interest of Bengaluru’s waste management system.
The association members mentioned that they had previously sent a letter on September 9, holding the two officials directly accountable for the escalating confusion. The letter highlighted that contractors’ monthly bills have remained unpaid since April, with arrears dating back to January still unsettled.
“Because of this, contractors have been forced to bear penalties and interest charges from the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) departments. Even when partial payments were released, unexplained deductions were being made from the bills, worsening the financial strain,” DH quoted one of the members of the BBMP Garbage Contractors Association as saying.
The cascading impact of delayed payments is affecting not only vehicle maintenance and fuel costs but also the timely payment of drivers and pourakarmikas. Many contractors, the union said, have been pushed into debt to keep services running.
The letter further highlighted the challenges faced by workers, who are expected to report for duty at 5:30 a.m. without access to public transport. Many are forced to walk long distances or spend on expensive autorickshaw rides due to lack of support from authorities.
S.N. Balasubramanian, President of the BBMP Garbage Contractors Association, said he had personally appealed to the COO for a joint meeting of officials and contractors, but no such meeting had been convened. “If the issues are not addressed and work is forced to stop in the coming days, the COO and CFO will be directly responsible,” The Hindu quoted him as saying.
Adding to their concerns, a circular from the Bengaluru City Traffic Police dated September 18 instructed that garbage lorries must not be parked on public roads, citing traffic disruptions and safety hazards. The directive mandates that all garbage vehicles be parked at BBMP depots or designated areas only, failing which enforcement action will be taken.
Contractors argue that this directive imposes an additional financial burden, as they now have to arrange secure parking for hundreds of vehicles across the city—at a time when they are already struggling to stay afloat.
The contractors has called for immediate intervention by BSWML, warning that a failure to resolve the issues will lead to protest and disruption of garbage collection services in the city.
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SC to hear pleas for reviewing wages of priests, temple staff
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the wages and other benefits given to priests, 'sevadars' and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta is likely to hear the PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, seeks directions to the Centre and states to constitute a judicial commission or an expert committee to review the remuneration and other benefits given to the priests and temple staff in state-controlled temples.
"Petitioner also seeks a declaration that priests and temple staff are employee' under Section 2(k) of the Code on Wages, 2019. Petitioner submits that once the State assumes the administrative, economic and financial control over temples, an employer-employee relationship arises and denial of dignified wages to priests and temple staff violates the right to livelihood guaranteed under Article 21," it said.
Upadhyay said the cause of action accrued on April 4, when he went to Varanasi to attend a public programme and after performing 'Rudrabhishek' in the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which is controlled by the state, he came to know that even the minimum wages to live with dignity are not given to the priests and temple staff.
"Recently, in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, priests and temple staff organised a large-scale protest demanding the minimum wages. Priests and temple staff are not getting even the minimum wage prescribed by the State for unskilled and semi-skilled workers. This is a systemic exploitation. State is acting as a model employer through the endowments department, but violating the minimum wages Act and the directive principles of state policy (Article 43)," it said.
The plea further said the continued refusal to meet the minimum wages with the 2026 inflation-adjusted cost of living index has forced the petitioner to seek judicial intervention to prevent the further marginalisation of priests and temple staff.
Upadhyay further said the precarious nature of livelihood was starkly exposed on February 7, 2025, when a Tamil Nadu department issued a circular at the 'Dandayuthapani Swami Temple' in Madurai, strictly prohibiting priests from accepting 'dakshina' in 'aarti plates'.
"It is necessary to state that priests in such temples often receive no formal salary from the State and rely entirely on 'Dakshina'; the State's administrative order directly threatened them with starvation. Although withdrawn due to public outrage, the incident highlights the State's arbitrary power over the survival of the priests. This is also a bitter truth that States are controlling lakhs of temples but not a single mosque or church," the PIL claimed.
The petition, alternatively, sought direction to the Centre and states to take appropriate steps for the welfare of priests, sevadars and other temple staff in the spirit of the Allahabad High Court's earlier judgments.
