GBA defends ₹613 crore plan to rent road-sweepers for seven years to clean Bengaluru: Report

The Greater Bengaluru Authority has defended its position in the midst of a controversy over a plan to rent mechanical road-sweepers at ₹613 crore.

A major controversy has erupted after the Karnataka cabinet cleared a plan to rent 46 mechanical road-sweeping machines for seven years at an estimated cost of ₹613.2 crore. With the arrangement working out to nearly ₹2 crore per machine annually, critics are accusing the government of pushing through an unnecessarily expensive model and ignoring expert advice.

Critics from the opposition, and residents of Bengaluru argued that buying these machines outright would work out cheaper for the government. (Photo for representation)

Opposition leaders, civic activists, and citizen groups argued that buying the sweepers outright would be far more economical. A state technical committee had earlier recommended purchase, and an independent assessment found that renting each truck would cost roughly ₹50 lakh more over the contract period than owning one, even though the upfront cost of buying each machine is about ₹3 crore.

The contract bidding will officially begin once the government order is issued.

Govt defends itself, says cost figures misunderstood

Maheshwar Rao, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), clarified that the ₹613-crore figure is not the final contract value but only a “maximum ceiling” used to trigger competitive bidding, said a report by The Times of India. He said critics were incorrectly treating the ceiling estimate as the committed expenditure.

The explanation has not calmed the storm. Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje earlier took to social media site X and described the decision as a “huge financial scam,” questioning why the projected amount was hundreds of crores higher than what she believes the project should cost.

Operational costs included, says GBA

Rao countered that the estimate accounts for all expenses over seven years, not just the machines themselves. Each sweeper needs to operate around 40 km every night, meaning fuel, labour, and maintenance form a significant share of the total cost. Whether the government buys or rents the machines, these expenses remain unavoidable, he said, as per the report.

He added that across India, operating mechanical sweepers typically costs between ₹900 and ₹1,200 per km.

Responding to claims that sweepers could be procured for as little as ₹25 lakh, Rao said the government is open to any vendor who can meet the required specifications at that price. The final contract amount, he said, will ultimately depend on how competitive the bidding process turns out to be.