Kochi corporation's 13 compactor trucks, bought at Rs 1cr each, in ruins
A dearth of funds and a shortage of workshops with the right facilities are delaying their repair work. Now, the corporation proposes to entrust the operation and maintenance of the trucks to a private agency.
The report said that it would take several months for the corporation officials to release the funds for repair works. However, the lone workshop in the near proximity where refuse compactor trucks can be repaired insists on advance payment for carrying out the repair works.
The vehicles will develop further damage, like rusting of platforms, without proper maintenance. Moreover, only one truck can be repaired at a time at the workshop, adding to the delay, the report states.
Hence, the corporation is forced to hire private trucks for garbage movement and other works.
"It is to avoid this situation that we plan to introduce a private agency to handle the operation and maintenance of the trucks.
by Taboola
by Taboola
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Last year, Cochin Smart Mission Ltd (CSML) procured 15 refuse compactor trucks for the corporation to transport garbage. The operation and maintenance of the CSML-procured trucks are entrusted to a private agency. They handle the trucks' maintenance in an effective way. So, if the operation of the 13 trucks we already have too is entrusted to a private agency, we can avoid hiring private trucks," a top official with the corporation said.
According to the report, the local body shelled out Rs 35 lakh in Oct 2024 to hire private trucks. "There is a lobby that supports hiring private trucks. The lobby acts in collusion with some corporation 'authorities' and officials. If the trucks' maintenance is entrusted to another agency, then the hiring of private trucks can be avoided," said Kochi corporation UDF parliamentary party secretary M G Aristotle.
"Those who support the lobby will not spare even a single opportunity to hire private trucks. Recently, they facilitated hiring private trucks for the shifting of silt removed from canals. As per the agreement with the contractors and corporation, the contractors had the responsibility to shift the silt at their cost. But some of the corporation 'authorities' and officials bent the norms to hire private trucks," Aristotle said.
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