Why Ctg city’s waste management in a mess despite high costs

Despite spending a significant amount each month on waste management, the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) is failing to bring about 1,000 tonnes of daily waste under its system, leaving it to accumulate on roads, in drains, and canals.

This ongoing struggle is contributing to environmental pollution and worsening the city's waterlogging problems.

Officials from the Conservancy Department claim they are understaffed and under-equipped, saying an additional 2,000 workers are needed to cover the full volume.

Data from CCC's Conservancy Department shows that the city generates around 3,000 tonnes of waste daily, while only about 2,200 tonnes are collected and managed.

The city corporation currently employs 3,308 workers for waste management, including 568 permanent and 2,740 temporary staff. Temporary workers receive a daily wage of Tk452. 

Staff duties range from sweeping and door-to-door collection to operating and maintaining waste transport vehicles.

Regarding the city's manpower shortage claim, Advocate Akhtar Kabir Chowdhury, editor of Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik Chattogram branch, said, "The number of manpower being mentioned—many of them do not actually work. There are irregularities and corruption here too. If necessary, attendance should be recorded via fingerprint. With proper digital monitoring, 95% of the city's waste could be managed efficiently."

However, a shortage of functional equipment poses another major hurdle for the authorities, further limiting the effectiveness of CCC's waste management efforts.

In addition to staff salaries, around Tk1.5 crore is spent monthly on fuel for waste transportation and Tk50 lakh on equipment maintenance. Another Tk15 lakh is spent on rented machinery due to a lack of functional equipment.

Among the CCC's 109 waste transport trucks, 55 are over 15 years old. To compensate, regular trucks are used, raising health and environmental concerns.

Of 13 excavators, only six are operational. There are just 20 compactors for the city's 41 wards. Seven of the 20 mobile containers are also over 15 years old.

Two of four skid loaders at the dumping ground are inoperative, forcing CCC to rent equipment at a monthly cost of Tk12 lakh. For canal maintenance, the CCC owns only one large escalator, with the rest of the work relying on rentals.

The situation is expected to worsen once 36 canals—now under a waterlogging alleviation project by the Chattogram Development Authority—are handed over to the CCC. Officials say they lack the necessary machinery to maintain them.

In 2022, CCC received a Tk6.25 crore weed harvester from the Local Government Ministry. However, it remains unused as it is not suited to the shallow canals of Chattogram.

Similarly, three road sweeper trucks purchased in 2020 are inoperative, reportedly raising dust instead of cleaning it. These machines are currently lying idle at CCC's Sagarika workshop.

CCC's Chief Cleansing Officer Navy Commander Iftekhar Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury said, "While working, our equipment breaks down every few days. We need a lot of equipment. Even after this has repeatedly come up in the media, we are not getting any solution."

CCC had initially proposed a Tk398 crore project to procure updated equipment for the city's upkeep. The proposal has since been revised to Tk289 crore but remains pending for approval at the Planning Ministry.

CCC's Executive Engineer (Mechanical) Nasir Uddin Rifat added, "Most of our machinery is 15 to 20 years old. CDA's canal excavation work is almost 80% complete and they will soon hand over the canals to us. If the project is not approved soon, canal maintenance will face serious challenges from next year. After approval, the procurement process alone takes more than six months."

Without urgent approval of new equipment and stronger oversight of existing operations, CCC's ability to manage the city's growing waste burden remains severely limited.