Surat Waste Scam: on whose orders did contractors get the lifting contract?

Surat | Gujarat — The solid waste dumping scam linked to Surat’s Khajod disposal site has taken a serious political turn, raising uncomfortable questions for the ruling BJP party.. While the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has issued show-cause notices to three officials of the Solid Waste Management Department, the larger and more crucial question remains unanswered: on whose behest did the contractor get the contract to lift and process waste from Khajod?

The issuance of notices to Assistant Engineer Mohsin Khan Mohmand Khan Pathan, Sanitary Sub Inspector Deepak R. Patel and Sanitary Inspector Abbas Khan Natthe Khan Pathan is being projected as “strict administrative action.” However, critics argue that fixing responsibility only at the lower and middle levels may amount to scapegoating, while those who enabled the system escape scrutiny.

According to official records, contractor C.D. Transport was assigned the task of scientifically processing city waste at the Khajod site and transporting processed by-products such as RDF to authorised agencies. Supervision and monitoring were the responsibility of the municipal officials now under the scanner.

The scam came to light after the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) informed the corporation that, instead of processing waste, at least three dumpers were illegally unloading unprocessed garbage on private land in Kankaria village of Mahuva taluka. Preliminary findings suggest that this was done purely for business gain, bypassing environmental norms.

What has shocked officials is the scale of the operation. Internal investigations reveal that three dumpers made 112 trips between December 10 and 21, systematically diverting waste from Khajod. Such a large operation, observers argue, could not have continued without either gross negligence or tacit approval.

The notice itself admits that the scam occurred either “under the mercy of officials or due to serious negligence,” a statement that further deepens suspicion. If negligence is being cited, then who vetted the contractor? Who approved payments? And most importantly, which senior BJP leader or political authority recommended or protected the contractor?

Following exposure, the contractor has now been directed to retrieve the illegally dumped waste and bring it back to Khajod. Around 10 trucks have reportedly been deployed over the last two days in damage-control mode — a move critics say is too little, too late.