GBA chief Maheshwar Rao defends move to hire sweeping machines

BENGALURU: Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao on Thursday defended the GBA move to hire sweeping machines at a cost of Rs 613 crore for 84 months. Addressing reporters here, he said that a decision to hire sweeping machines, instead of purchasing them, was taken after holding several meetings. A proposal on 18% GST concession on hiring sweeping machines was made during one of the meetings. If things go as per plan, there are chances of the estimated cost getting reduced by around Rs 100 crore, Rao said. He said discussions on hiring sweeping machines were on for over a year as manual sweeping of roads is a challenging task. Many civic bodies have sweeping machines. A thorough study on their operation and maintenance costs was done. Based on the outcome of the study, it was decided to hire sweeping machines instead of purchasing them. The GBA expects competitive bidding by agencies/contractors, he said. Rao said GBA has sent a proposal to hire sweeping machines to the state government for approval and tenders will be invited soon. Details such as hiring cost and expenditures incurred on maintenance of sweeping machines and their operators will be available on the GBA website. Objections, if any, from the general public are welcome, he added.