Sweeping machines drain MC coffers

The reason behind the additional spending is stated to be the increase in the price of euro during the period of purchase. The anomaly came to light after auditors pointed out that more than Rs 32 lakh spent for the project has not been approved by the General House. The civic body has referred the matter to the Sanitation Committee for discussion.

The House,in a meeting held on August 31,2007,approved a proposal for the purchase of three such machines. The estimated cost was Rs 51 lakh with the price of euro being Rs 57.44 at that time. An account was opened with the Oriental Bank of Commerce on December 7,2007 — the cost of euro then was Rs 58.73. By the time the first installment — payment for 85 per cent of the amount — was made,the price of euro was Rs 62.85. The remaining 15 per cent was paid when the price of euro was Rs 67.73. Due to the fluctuation in the price time and again,the civic body paid an additional price of Rs 32 lakh.

In addition to this,custom duty worth Rs 1.24 crore was paid for importing the machines from Italy. Another Rs 3.5 lakh was paid as consultancy for custom duty. Consequently,the total cost of purchasing the machines was Rs 5.42 crore.

Councillor Chander Mukhi Sharma said: “When more money has been spent than the sanctioned amount,why was there complete silence on the issue for two years? The auditors should have pointed this out earlier. No permission was sought from the House for appointing a consultant. The responsibility for the lapses should be fixed.”

The sweeping machines have always been in the thick of controversy. Before the machines were purchased,MC officials,including former medical officer of health Dr G C Bansal and the then joint commissioner H S Kandhola went on a trip to Italy to see the machines. The trip was sponsored by the company and led to a lot of hue and cry.

The MC is spending around Rs 15 lakh a year for purchasing new brooms for the machines. There are five brooms in every machine — each costing around Rs 19,000 — which have to be replaced every month. The salaries of the driver and helper as well as the diesel consumed is separate.

According to Councillor Dr A P Sanwaria,the machines were purchased after the councillors were informed that these would be helpful in the reduction of manpower and prove efficient in cleaning roads. “The machines have not achieved the desired results. It is the fault of the official machinery that the councillors were misinformed. The recurring cost of the machines is quite high. There was no need to hire a consultant,” he added.

Meanwhile,Councillor Jatinder Bhatia claimed that the machines are not meant for Indian roads. Instead,more people should have been given employment,as there is enough manpower readily available.

“The payment has been made and now,approval has been sought from the House. The matter has been referred to the Sanitation Committee,” said Municipal Commissioner Dr Roshan Sunkaria.