The Hindu 12.02.2010

New garbage truck arrives for trial

Special Correspondent

Thiruvananthapuram: The first of the new-generation garbage trucks acquired by the City Corporation arrived here on Thursday for a five-day field trial.

The new truck boasts of a stainless steel loading bay with airtight doors to minimise corrosion and odour. The vehicle has a built-in high-capacity tank to collect leachate from the garbage.

The rear door uses a hydraulic system for closing and the doors on top have rubber beading to ensure that the contents remain airtight. The truck is shaped like a water tank. This ensures that there is no possibility of the leachate leaking out through the sides, Corporation Health Officer D. Sreekumar said.

He said the vehicle would be put to use in the city for five days to ensure that it conforms to the required parameters.

“At the end of the field trial, we will recommend modifications, if required,” Dr. Sreekumar said.

The truck was designed in-house by a team comprising experts drawn from the Corporation, PWD and the College of Engineering. The Corporation has placed orders for nine more trucks, Dr. Sreekumar added.

The augmentation of the Corporation’s fleet is one of the major components of the ongoing project to streamline the garbage collection system in the city.

Hindustan Times 05.02.2010

Rs 173 cr for parking lots

A cash-strapped Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which has decided to cut corners by reducing expenditure on big projects, has budgeted Rs 173 crore for five underground parking lots between Hutatma Chowk and Regal Cinema.

The total project cost is Rs 440 crore.

The Shiv Sena-led BMC declared its budget on Wednesday. The BMC said it plans to reduce expenditure on key projects by roping in private partners.

The parking lots project being executed by a consortium of Venue Infrastructure seems to be an exception. BMC sources say the reason for this is WOHR Parking System Private Limited (India)--a company that is a part of the consortium--is owned by Girish Vyas, son-in-law of senior Sena leader Manohar Joshi.

The Hindustan Times had, in August, reported that the Sena-led standing committee had cleared the project that is connected to a kin of one of their senior leaders.

Sena legislator and Chairman of the Standing Committee Ravindra Waikar refuted allegations that the decision had something to do with their party leader.

“This amount is being spent considering the necessity of a parking facility in the area. There are several health facilities around and lack of parking space becomes a huge problem. One should not link the nod [for the project] with Joshi sir (Manohar Joshi).”

The project involves constructing five underground parking lots between Hutatma Chowk and Regal Cinema. The BMC will not get any returns from the project.

Municipal Commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya in his budget speech on Wednesday in fact announced that Rs 173 crore will be set aside for the project. “This amount will be used to start work on the projects. Considering the availability of funds and financial position we will review the situation,” said Kshatriya.

This means that an additional fund allocation can be made during the financial year with the nod of the standing committee.

Kshatriya justified going ahead with the project despite a cash crunch. “BMC’s financial situation is a matter of concern. However, we did not get any response from private companies when we put out advertisements. So we have decided to do it on our own,” said Kshatriya.