A few days after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah flagged off the 25 new garbage compactors of the BBMP, questions are being raised about the cost and necessity of the acquisition.
Raising the issue in the BBMP council meeting on Saturday, opposition leader Padmanabha Reddy pointed out that the compactors have been bought from four companies for around Rs. 35 lakh each when the actual cost is around Rs. 12 lakh. “When bought in bulk, companies usually offer freebees and discounts. Was there any negotiation at all?”
He pointed out that the new compactors, since their purchase, have not been put to use. Instead, they have been parked within the compound of the BBMP headquarters.
“These compactors have several additional functions, like automatically lifting garbage,” said Mayor B.N. Manjunath Reddy, while justifying the purchase.
Questions have also been raised about the maintenance contract for the 25 compactors. Former deputy mayor S. Harish claimed that the maintenance contract for five years for the new compactors comes to around Rs. 9.62 crore. “This is more than the cost of the compactors,” he said.
He pointed out that there was no need for the compactors, as the BBMP can award a garbage contract only to those who have their own compactors, auto-tippers and other machinery as per the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000. “Why is the BBMP misusing tax payers’ money?”
The Mayor maintained that the acquisition is in line with the BBMP’s plans to use the State government’s allocation to ease the garbage problem plaguing the city. The BBMP already has 48 compactors, each with a 10-tonne capacity, which are sometimes given to garbage contractors, he said. Garbage tenders for 151 wards would be floated soon, he added.
