Bengaluru to get 4,900 new garbage collection vehicles with higher capacity

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Minister Krishna Byre Gowda addressing the media in Bengaluru on Thursday. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

The Bengaluru city civic body is in the process of junking the existing fleet of garbage collection vehicles and opting for new ones, as the State Cabinet on Thursday approved the acquisition of 4,900 new vehicles with greater carrying capacity.

According to Bengaluru City Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, the new vehicles will be mandatorily fitted with GPS to monitor their movements and ensure that they collect garbage from all assigned areas.

While the GBA has drawn up 33 packages for tendering to usher in the new system, the State Cabinet on Thursday gave its approval for 10 such packages, while five packages had received Cabinet approval about two months ago. Thursday was also the last day for receiving bids for another eight packages.

Briefing mediapersons after the Cabinet meeting, Mr. Byre Gowda explained that the city presently has a total of 5,200 three-wheelers for garbage collection, each with a carrying capacity of one tonne. In reality, however, their carrying capacity has halved to 0.5 tonnes as most vehicles are old. Consequently, they handle a total of only 5,600 tonnes of garbage a day.

However, once all 33 packages are in place, the city will have 3,000 four-wheelers for garbage collection — each with a capacity of three or five tonnes — along with 1,900 three-wheelers with a capacity of one tonne each. The entire fleet will be able to handle a total of 9,000 tonnes of garbage a day despite the reduction in the total number of vehicles compared to the earlier system that handled 5,600 tonnes, he explained.

Under the new system, the successful bidder will not only supply the vehicles but also handle garbage collection and transportation for the next seven years, he said.

The garbage collection and transportation cost is estimated to touch around ₹610 crore a year under the new system, compared to ₹598 crore under the present system, despite handling a larger volume of garbage, he added.

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