The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has invited bids for a one-year contract to supply cloth bags through 105 vending machines across 17 districts, expanding the state’s effort to enforce its ban on single-use plastics. The contract is valued at ₹67 lakh, and each off-white cloth bag will be sold for ₹5.
The procurement is being undertaken under the state government’s ‘Meendum Manjappai’ scheme, launched in 2021 to promote reusable bags. While some existing vending machines supply yellow bags, the tender requires the selected agency to provide off-white bags made to a 110 GSM specification.
The successful bidder will be responsible for the full operation of the vending network. This includes maintaining and refilling the machines, carrying out weekly inspections, operating service centres and managing the quality of the cloth bags. The agency must also bear administrative expenses, including the recruitment, training and salaries of service personnel.
The tender documents require the agency to submit weekly reports to the TNPCB corporate office and district offices. These reports must cover the number of bags supplied through the machines and repair work undertaken. If a machine remains non-functional for up to a week, the agency will have to replace the setup at its own risk.
The contract also requires the creation of a common monitoring portal. According to the tender documents, the portal must track the operation, maintenance and refilling of the machines. The number of bags physically available in a vending machine and the quantity shown on its display must be identical.
Chennai will account for 51 of the 105 vending machines, making it the largest beneficiary of the network. The machines are located at sites including beaches and vegetable markets, where residents and visitors may need bags for purchases or other uses. The remaining machines will be distributed across 16 other districts.
A TNPCB official said the board was checking the offtake from machines at several locations and would increase their number wherever necessary. The board is also planning to establish similar vending machines in other districts, the official said.
The tender is open to agencies that have recorded an annual turnover of at least ₹20 lakh in any one of the previous three financial years. Applicants must also have experience in handling cloth-bag vending machines or similar types of machines in Tamil Nadu.
The new contract places responsibility for supply, service continuity, reporting and monitoring on a single operating agency. The selected bidder will therefore be required to maintain both the availability of bags for users and the functioning of the vending infrastructure throughout the one-year contract period.
