Projects involving nearly Rs 1,500 crore, mainly the proposed Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) project and mechanical road-sweeping works, are set to dominate the Municipal Corporation’s Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) meeting on Monday.The proposals are aimed at overhauling garbage collection and disposal and improving cleanliness on the city’s main roads.The biggest proposal is the Integrated Solid Waste Management project, which has remained controversial in the MC amid objections from councillors and sanitation workers. The tender is estimated at around Rs 1,195 crore and envisages the collection, transportation, processing and scientific disposal of municipal solid waste under a public-private partnership model.The proposed system is intended to cover the entire waste chain — door-to-door collection, transportation, handling at secondary collection points, processing and final disposal. The civic body has proposed initially implementing the system in Zones B and C before expanding it to other parts of the city.The second major proposal concerns mechanical sweeping of main roads. The official Punjab tender puts the estimated value of the three-year contract at Rs 81.54 crore, with the possibility of extending it by two years. The scope includes mechanical sweeping, washing, litter picking and horticulture-related work on main roads.According to the tender details, the work covers about 348.5 km of roads. The financial bid information available for the tender puts the lowest bid at about Rs 88.07 crore, making the road-cleaning contract another sizeable expenditure for the MC.Why the waste project is facing oppositionThe ISWM proposal has become a major point of disagreement within the MC. Congress councillor and F&CC member Gaurav Bhatti has opposed the project, questioning its cost and the financial burden it could place on the cash-strapped civic body.Bhatti has also raised concerns over the livelihood of families currently involved in door-to-door garbage collection. He has claimed that around 15,000 poor, Dalit and labour families could be affected if the new system is implemented. These are his objections to the proposal and have not been independently established as the final employment impact.Sanitation workers have separately protested against the proposed system, expressing concern that outsourcing waste collection could affect their livelihoods.The issue has already remained pending in successive F&CC meetings as objections over the tender and its financial implications continue.Bhatti to walk from Jamalpur to Mayor’s camp officeCouncillor Gaurav Bhatti will undertake a nearly 12-km barefoot march on Monday against the proposed solid waste management project.He is scheduled to start the march at around 10 am from his office near LIG Flats and proceed towards the Mayor’s camp office, where the F&CC meeting is scheduled to take place. He plans to submit a written objection against the waste-management tender and demand its cancellation.