The Indian Express 10.09.2013
Corporators in favour of mini tempos for garbage collection, PMC says not feasible
tempos to collect garbage in their respective electoral ward has not
gone down well with the civic administration.
The administration has struck down the plan by saying that it is
not economically feasible and instead suggested the use of large
containers for collection .
“Going by the past experience and operating cost of mini tempo,
the vehicle is neither economically feasible nor efficient,” said Joint
Municipal Commissioner Suresh Jagtap in the proposal tabled before the
standing committee.
He added, “Apart from the cost of vehicles, the expenditure on
driver, cleaner and fuel is around Rs 1,200 a day, which is too much .”
The vehicle, which costs Rs 5 lakh, enables garbage collection of
150-175 kg in a single trip. The civic body incurs Rs 2,500 for
transporting a tonne of waste.
Civic officials said the capacity of the engine of the vehicle is
less and it frequently leads to breakdown, thereby hampering the
garbage collection process. “At times, many workers load debris in the
vehicle damaging the hydraulic jack of the vehicle,” said Jagtap, adding
the civic vehicle department does not have expertise and spare parts
required to repair such vehicles.
Jagtap said the civic body already has a fleet of 40 such
vehicles and every time it sends vehicles for repair to manufacturing
company, it takes a lot of time.
He said the mini tempo, which is generally used to collect waste
directly from houses, is not required as the civic body already has
door-to-door waste collection service. The increasing demand for mini
tempos will affect the existing door-to-door waste collection system, he
added.
Meanwhile, the civic administration has decided to take a policy decision and purchase such
vehicles only for congested areas after approval from the municipal commissioner.
