The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) council has approved a ₹8.29 crore annual action plan to operate and maintain 153 vehicles purchased recently for collecting and transporting solid waste, and to pay the salaries of 280 persons to be outsourced for solid waste management.
It has been more than two months since the new vehicles, purchased under the Swachh Bharat Mission grants, have been lying idle. The corporation has also not reserved any dedicated parking place for them.
The 153 vehicles include 30 lorry tippers, 107 jeep tippers, and 16 compactors. The 280 human resources required are 153 drivers, 21 supervisors, 90 loaders, and 16 helpers, according to an agenda placed in the meeting of the council on Wednesday.
The action plan estimated the annual salaries for 153 drivers at ₹3.72 crore and that of the supervisors, the loaders, and the helpers (127 persons) at ₹3.48 crore.
It estimated the operation and maintenance cost of vehicles at ₹1.08 crore.
The action plan has estimated the operation and maintenance cost of each lorry tipper at ₹7,000 per month and a jeep tipper at ₹5,000 a month. The operation and maintenance cost of a compactor has been estimated at ₹10,000 per month.
When the Congress councillor, A.C. Vinayraj, wanted to know the basis for deciding the operation and maintenance cost per month, neither the Commissioner of the corporation C. L. Anand nor Mayor Sudheer Shetty Kanuur could give a convincing reply.
The Commissioner told the council that it was decided after studying the rate fixed by the Mysuru City Corporation for operating and maintaining the vehicles as there is no government specification.
The agenda said that the action plan will be sent to the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada for his scrutiny and to give administrative approval.
The Mayor said that later bids will be invited to hire human resources on outsourcing basis.
