BMC proposal: 24 SUVs for ₹2.83 crore

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to shell out ₹2.83 crore to acquire 24 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) for each of the 24 assistant municipal commissioners (Ward Officers) in charge of the 24 administrative wards in Mumbai.

According to the standing committee agenda of December 3 the civic administration wants to replace the existing vehicles with new ones citing frequent breakdowns and overuse. The proposal states that BMC will buy 24 models of the Mahindra Scorpio (BS-VI) at a price of ₹11.34 lakh each.

In the agenda it is also mentioned that the vehicles that are going to be replaced are also Scorpio but the variants are different.

The BMC has said that it will procure the new vehicles from the Government E Marketplace (GEM Portal) at a discounted price of 15-20% from present-day market rate, and the overall cost including taxes and transportation would come to ₹2.83 cr.

The existing vehicles were brought 8-10 years ago

A senior BMC official associated with the Solid Waste Management (SWM) department in charge for the maintenance of vehicles owned by the BMC said that owing to the rules of the Bombay High Court (HC), the BMC needs to replace its existing fleet of vehicles after every eight years.

“To keep a check on the carbon emission there is a rule of replacing these vehicles after every eight years. We are following these orders,” the official who did not wish to be quoted, said.

The official added that a technical committee will conduct a structural audit of the existing to assess whether they could be used for other departmental purposes.

“The SUV vehicles are robust and will not breakdown easily especially during the monsoon season,” the official said.

These vehicles are mainly used by the ward officers for their official field visits, inspection visits and day-to-day commute.

Earlier this year, the BMC had spent ₹1.6 years for acquiring five electronic vehicles on lease for eight years. “The five e-cars are in operation and one of it is presently being used by the Mayor and some officials of Joint Municipal Commissioner rank,” the official said.

The official said that as there not enough charging points in the city, the civic body will acquire the SUVs.

“At a time when the civic body is cutting budget for slum development, school repairs and garden maintenance it is planning to buy new cars. The BMC has already spent crores in battling Covid and the proposal should be ascertained before giving it a go-ahead,” Vinod Mishra, group leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who is also a member of the standing committee.

The proposal will be tabled for approval in the civic standing committee on Friday. If passed, the vehicles will be delivered to the BMC within 90 days after official order is placed.