Bengaluru to get 4,900 new waste collection vehicles with higher capacity

Minister Krishna Byre Gowda was addressing the media in Bengaluru on Thursday. | Photo credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

The Bengaluru city civic body is in the process of phasing out its existing fleet of garbage collection vehicles and opting for new ones as the state cabinet on Thursday approved the procurement of 4,900 new vehicles with higher capacity.

According to Bengaluru City Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, the new vehicles will be compulsorily fitted with GPS to monitor their movement and ensure that they collect garbage from all allocated areas.

While the GBA has prepared 33 tender packages to implement the new system, the state cabinet approved 10 such packages on Thursday, while five packages received cabinet approval about two months ago. Thursday was also the last day to receive bids for the other eight parcels.

Mr. Byre Gowda explained after the cabinet meeting at a mediators’ briefing that the city currently has a total of 5,200 three-wheelers for garbage collection, each with a carrying capacity of one tonne. However, in reality their carrying capacity has been halved to 0.5 tonnes as most of the vehicles are old. They process a total of only 5,600 tons of garbage per day.

However, once all 33 packages are in place, the city will have 3,000 four-wheelers for waste collection – each with a capacity of three or five tonnes – along with 1,900 three-wheelers with a capacity of one tonne. The entire fleet will be able to process a total of 9,000 tons of waste per day, despite a reduction in the total number of vehicles compared to the previous system, which handled 5,600 tons, he explained.

Under the new system, the successful bidder will not only supply the vehicles for the next seven years, but also provide waste collection and transportation, he said.

The cost of waste collection and transportation under the new system is estimated to be around ₹ 610 million annually compared to ₹ 598 million under the current system, despite handling more waste, he added.

Published – 29 Oct 2026 22:23 IST