Some Bengaluru MLAs blackmailing us over garbage issue: Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar

BENGALURU: He was going through his daily-morning routine — walking on the treadmill while flipping through TV channels. That is, until a news ticker flashed across the TV screen — Garbage crisis in Bengaluru. Startled, he hit stop, jumped off the treadmill and muttered to himself, "What fresh crisis is the city facing now?"
And so began deputy chief minister and Bengaluru development minister's deep dive into the fresh garbage controversy that unfolded with residents of Mitaganahalli-Kannuru refusing to allow trucks carrying garbage from Bengaluru to dump in landfills there.
"Watching the stranded garbage compactors and citizens protesting the unscientific dumping on TV channels, I started worrying that I may have to deal with fresh trouble and got off the treadmill and headed straight to work (Vidhana Soudha)," Shivakumar told the legislative council Friday. He was responding to Congress MLC Nagaraj Yadav's plea during zero-hour proceedings to resolve the burgeoning garbage crisis.
‘Big mafia controls garbage'
Shivakumar described the problem as ‘big mafia' taking the govt head-on. "The city's garbage issue is indeed a big mafia. Previously, the govt floated a tender in 89 packages for collection and transportation of waste from city households. But the contractors formed a cartel and approached the court, affecting the tender process. Unfortunately, the court is also not ruling on what needs to be done," he said.
"I have been genuinely working to resolve this crisis by trying to scout for suitable places in four directions of the city within a radius of 50km. While we found two places near NICE corridor, we are unable to get suitable locations in other areas. You (council) will not believe that a few MLAs are blackmailing us and demanding Rs 800-crore development funds. I do not want to take any names as they belong to all political parties. In the meantime, garbage compactors have been blocked for three days and the crisis is snowballing into a major controversy. I will come back Monday with a detailed reply on this problem."
Seeks cooperation of all parties
Appealing to functionaries cutting across party lines, Shivakumar said, "As I explained, I have been planning to manage garbage on the outskirts of Bengaluru, and I seek cooperation from all political parties. If I managed to get 100 acres of land, I would be ready to purchase it. While our experiments to generate electricity from garbage having failed, the only option that appears feasible is to convert garbage into gas. I have already visited Chennai and Hyderabad in this regard and very soon, I will go to Indore as well. Even though we are yet to float a tender to handle garbage, a senior leader has accused me of looting Rs 15,000 crore. Let them criticise, I don't mind."