BENGALURU: The Karnataka Cabinet approved a plan to overhaul Bengaluru’s waste collection and transportation system through 10 packages, besides the existing five of 33 constituency-wise packages, with seven-year contracts expected to cost the civic bodies between Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 4,500 crore.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Bengaluru Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the new contracts would require operators to deploy new, higher-capacity vehicles fitted with GPS tracking systems to improve door-to-door collection and ensure effective monitoring.
He said the existing system had several shortcomings, including the use of ageing vehicles, inadequate waste-carrying capacity and failure to implement GPS tracking, despite it being mandatory. The existing vehicles were procured through supply orders rather than a comprehensive tendering process, resulting in gaps in collection coverage and monitoring. Although the old vehicles were officially rated to carry one tonne of waste, their actual capacity had fallen to around half-a-tonne because of ageing, prompting complaints from citizens, he said.
The current fleet comprises around 5,200 vehicles, including 1,900 three-wheelers, with a combined carrying capacity of 5,600 tonnes. Under the new system, the fleet will be reduced to around 4,900 vehicles, including 3,000 four-wheelers, while the overall carrying capacity will increase to 9,000 tonnes.
The new vehicles will have carrying capacities of one, three and five tonnes, depending on operational requirements. GPS installation will be compulsory, and the vehicles will be deployed under separate packages covering all 33 Assembly constituencies.
Gowda said five packages had earlier been awarded at 14 per cent above the estimated tender cost. Following negotiations, the average premium for the 10 new packages had been brought down to 8 per cent. Each vehicle operator is expected to invest around Rs 10 crore, which would be recovered over the seven-year contract period. The overall expenditure for civic bodies is estimated at Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 4,500 crore.
At present, around Rs 598 crore is spent annually on waste management, covering three stages -- door-to-door collection to transportation to processing plants, while processing was different. Under the new arrangement, annual expenditure could rise to around Rs 610 crore for all 33 packages, he said.
The revamped system is intended to improve collection coverage, ensure vehicles adhere to designated routes and strengthen accountability through GPS-based tracking.