Mysore/Mysuru: Traditionally, Municipalities have viewed vehicle leasing less expensive than owning, as the onus of maintaining the vehicles in optimum condition is on the owner. But actually, owning a vehicle and having an exclusive service station saves money.

Realising that leased vehicles are far more expensive, the thinking has changed drastically with the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) authorities deciding to own a fleet of vehicles and have dedicated fuel pumps and service stations.

Often, the poorly maintained and unfit MCC vehicles come under intense media glare and become a butt of jokes in social media where people upload photos of rickety carriers and pass unsavoury comments regarding their pathetic state.

A vehicle audit has revealed that those poorly maintained vehicles and those vehicles that have completed 15 years mostly belong to the outsourced category. MCC Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy realised that the old vehicles are a drain on the MCC’s resources and it is a difficult task to maintain them as the vehicles have crossed their capacities.

In this scenario, he has realised that owning a vehicle and having own service station will solve the problem to a large extent. By purchasing vehicles, the dependency on outsourced vehicles will be lessened and also it will increase efficiency as there will be complete                                                        accountability.

Under the new policy of purchasing vehicles, 65 tractors have already been purchased                                                               by the MCC under Swachh Bharath Mission. 16 tractors were handed over to the                                                           MCC by District Minister S.T. Somashekar recently and at present, all the 16 tractors are being used to lift waste from roadsides and drains.

The remaining 49 vehicles are being fitted with trailers and they will be up and running by the first week of May, Lakshmikantha Reddy told Star of Mysore.

No middlemen

“Mysuru city is growing by the day and there is an urgent requirement for own vehicles instead of depending on private and leased out vehicles. We spoke with the vehicle manufacturers and bought the vehicles directly from them without involving any middlemen,” he said. 

Over 130 TATA Ace vehicles have been purchased through tenders and the vehicles will arrive in Mysuru in the first week of May. There were five backhoes with the MCC and five more have been purchased and all the nine zones have a backhoe each. One backhoe has been reserved at the plant.

There are certain autorickshaws (auto tippers) which have completed their 15 years of service and they will be e-auctioned. 78 such auto tippers have been identified for disposal and a letter has been written to the Road Transport Officer.

“As the MCC has moved in the right direction in purchasing its own vehicles, at present, there are only 18 lorries that have been taken on lease. We will stop their usage from the first week of May. Petrol pumps and service stations will be established at Sewage Farm                                                                   and Rayanakere Hundi in collaboration with Indian Oil Corporation. Staff and expert mechanics will be hired to maintain the vehicles at the service stations. Work on the petrol pumps and service stations will start in a month,” the Commissioner added.

VEHICLES OWNED BY MCC

Vehicle type                                                   Number

Car, jeep, van, mini bus                             10

Tractor                                                              37

Mini tipper                                                      18

Dumper placer                                              7

Heavy tipper                                                  10

Compactor                                                      27

Animal waste transporter                         7

Tractor dozer                                                 3

Backhoe                                                           10

Hitachi 80 chain dozer                               1

Hitachi 120 chain dozer                             1

Hitachi TXM 120 mini                                  2

Hyundai chain dozer 203                           1

Hyundai chain dozer 204                           1

Auto tipper                                                     93

TATA Ace tipper                                            155

Fogging vehicles                                           3

Hearse                                                              4

Dog squad                                                       1

Ladder jeep                                                    2

Water mini lorry                                           1

Road cleaning vehicle                                 1

Audio-video vehicle                                    1