Karnataka Cabinet Approves ₹613 Crore Plan to Rent Road-Sweeping Machines for Bengaluru

The Karnataka Cabinet has approved a ₹613 crore plan to rent 59 mechanical road-sweeping machines for seven years to clean 1,688 km of Bengaluru’s main and sub-main roads. The project includes annual cost escalation and a full safety mandate.

Bengaluru: In a major push towards improving urban cleanliness and mechanising road maintenance, the state cabinet has approved the rental of 46 mechanical sweeping machines for use across the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) limits. The project, sanctioned for a seven-year period at a total cost of ₹613.25 crore, aims to enhance the efficiency of cleaning operations on Bengaluru’s main and sub-main roads. The decision is expected to significantly reduce manual labour, improve dust management, and bring greater uniformity to road-cleaning efforts across the city.

Daily Cost Estimated at ₹24.33 Lakh

When the total project cost is broken down over seven years, the estimated average daily expenditure to sweep 1,688 km of roads stands at ₹24.33 lakh. The mechanical sweeping machines will cover a sweeping length of 4,720 km across the designated 1,688 km road network within the limits of five civic corporations. The approved rental rate is ₹894.53 per km per day.

The cabinet has also approved an annual 5% escalation in sweeping charges. Though the GBA initially proposed a budget of ₹781.08 crore, the government granted administrative approval for ₹613.25 crore (including GST) after revising the financial criteria.

A key condition mandates that bidders must independently cover staff salaries, maintenance charges, and operational costs of the sweeping machines.

Break-Up of Proposed Annual Costs

The GBA had presented a detailed cost projection for each corporation zone. 

For the first year, the proposed expenditure was:

• ₹16.25 crore – Central Corporation
• ₹17.88 crore – East Corporation
• ₹22.76 crore – West Corporation
• ₹21.13 crore – Bengaluru North
• ₹17.88 crore – Bengaluru South

For the second year, with the 5% escalation, the estimates were:

• ₹17.07 crore – Central Corporation
• ₹18.78 crore – East Corporation
• ₹23.90 crore – West Corporation
• ₹22.19 crore – Bengaluru North
• ₹18.78 crore – Bengaluru South

When divided over seven years, the estimated average daily cost to sweep 1,688 km of roads is Rs. 24.33 lakh. Since the rental cost will increase by 5% each year, the rent paid will vary each year over the seven years.

Amendments to Greater Bengaluru Administration Bill

The cabinet has also cleared the Greater Bengaluru Administration (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, which proposes updates to several sections of the Greater Bengaluru Administration Act, 2024. The amended bill will be presented in the upcoming legislative session.

Under the changes, the following officers will be added to the Authority:

• Chief Secretary
• Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development Department)
• Additional Chief Secretary
• Principal Secretary (Finance Department)

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil said that sub-section (5) of Section 9 will be amended to provide clarity regarding the appointment of MPs (Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha) and MLAs/MLCs as members of the Authority.

Chief Minister Expresses Displeasure Over Delayed Sub-Committee Reports

During the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reportedly expressed strong displeasure over the prolonged delay by three cabinet sub-committees in submitting their reports. One such committee is looking into the multi-crore scam flagged in the Justice Michael D’Cunha Commission’s report on the COVID-era irregularities during the previous BJP government.

The CM instructed the committees, pending for more than six months, to submit their reports without further delay.