BENGALURU: Brushing aside serious questions raised by the Opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular), the state government on Wednesday gave administrative approval for renting 46 mechanical road-sweeping machines for seven years at a whopping Rs 613 crore to clean roads in five municipal corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA).
The Opposition questioned the logic of paying huge sums for renting the machines that can be purchased for a fraction of that amount. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, however, dismissed the allegations made by JDS and BJP and dared them to lodge a complaint with Lokayukta if there is corruption in renting the machines.
He told the media that if there is corruption, JDS leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje should file a complaint with the Lokayukta. “We have moved forward with sweeper machine rentals after a thorough study. This is not a project which started now, but it is seven years old. We are ready for any investigation. The process is transparent,” he said, responding to allegations.
BJP contended that as per the Union government’s e-marketplace portal, each of those machines cost around Rs 2.5 crore, and if the government purchases 46 machines (as approved by the cabinet), the total cost would be around Rs 115 crore.
‘Sweeping machine should cost 'Rs 3cr each'
The difference between renting them for seven years and purchasing them is around Rs 500 crore, BJP said. “Who is pocketing Rs 500 crore? Is it not corruption? Going by their calculations, the government would spend Rs 24 lakh a day for sweeping the roads,” it stated.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy said even if the government purchases machines with the best specifications, it would cost them Rs 3 crore each, and in that case, the total cost would still be under Rs 150 crore. “When you could have purchased the machines for Rs 150 crore, what was the need for going for the Rs 613 crore rental model,” he questioned. The deal will not make any sense even if they take into consideration the annual maintenance, he said.
He said the State ignored the BCG (Boston Consulting Group) report, suggesting that it is better to purchase the machines instead of renting them. “What was the agenda behind taking such a decision? People are asking how much kickback they are getting,” he said.
The cost for cleaning has been fixed at Rs 894.53/km of road, and each year it will raise by 5% till the seven year lease period. According to GBA, 10 machines will be deployed in Bengaluru Central City Corporation, 11 in East, 14 in West, 13 in North and 11 in South. “In all, 46 machines will cover 1,688 km of roads. They will sweep and clean the arterial and sub-arterial where there is high-density traffic density. The decision was taken as there is a safety concern for pourakarmikas,” said the official.
The corporation will not pay for the maintenance of the machines. Slamming the government decision, Ram Prasad from Friends of Lakes said spending over Rs 600 crore for machines comes with a lot of doubt, and there are also concerns over accountability of segregation of dust, leaves, papers and plastic from the machine.