MUMBAI, July 13 -- Privatising garbage collection and transportation is expected to save money for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), rather than cost more, according to the state urban development department (UDD), which oversees the civic body. The state legislative council was told on Friday that privatisation would save around Rs.160 crore a year, as the expenditure on per tonne collection and transportation would decrease. The BMC has floated a Rs.4,000-crore tender to privatise garbage collection and transportation, a service that has until now been provided by permanent as well as contractual employees of the civic body. At present, there are 25,385 employees providing the service, and employees' unions are concerned that the move will render them jobless. Privatising the service is therefore being opposed by the unions as well as legislators from the ruling BJP, who have raised the matter in the monsoon session of the state legislature. BJP member in the legislative council, Praveen Darekar, raised the issue through a calling-attention motion. Anil Parab, from the opposition Shiv Sena (UBT), joined ruling party members in opposing the move on grounds that it would negatively impact civic employees as well as the civic exchequer. However, the urban development department, which oversees the BMC, justified the decision and claimed it would save around Rs.160 crore a year. "Privatisation would bring down the BMC's expenditure by Rs.761 per tonne - it would be Rs.2,865 instead of the current Rs.3,625 per tonne. Considering the average garbage collection of 6,500 tonnes per day, the BMC will save Rs.45-50 lakh a day, and Rs.160 crore a year," said minister Uday Samant, replying on behalf of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the UDD. The minister also claimed that no BMC employees would lose their job due to the privatisation move. This was submitted by the state government in a written reply in the legislative council. "They will be assigned some other work in the same department," stated the reply. In its written reply, the urban development department also told the council that, for the last seven years, the BMC has been using the contract system for garbage collection in four of the 25 administrative civic wards in Mumbai. "Now, the BMC is extending privatisation to all 25 administrative wards. Due to this decision, the BMC can collect garbage and clean roads twice a day, once in the morning and then in the evening," said the reply....