The Telangana government and the GHMC authorities have been using Swachh Auto Tippers (SATs) to improve sanitation within the Greater Hyderabad area for quite some time now.
As the need for more tippers was felt, it was decided that 650 more tippers would be procured and added to the existing fleet of 2,500 vehicles. The addition will enable the vehicles to cover all 30 circles in the GHMC area more efficiently.
They will be procured under a driver-cum-owner scheme, where 10% of the cost of each unit will be borne by the beneficiaries, rag pickers. The remaining 90% will be covered by the GHMC that will acquire loans from the Canara Bank at the rate of 8% per annum for a period of 72 months.
(The vehicles are provided by Automotive Manufacturers Private Limited. The makers were selected through a tendering process at the rate of Rs 6,86,701 for each vehicle. The total cost of the project is Rs 44,63,55,650.)
The allotment of the SATs will be based solely on the number of uncovered dumping areas in each circle, and the process has reportedly has been kept entirely transparent. Each tipper will cover 600 households.
This project has been welcomed by many as they feel that it is undoubtedly an important stepping stone in the journey of creating a 'Swachh Hyderabad'.
The TRS government has been involved in many projects to help create a clean and green Telangana. Just last month, it had organised a
massive tree-plantation drive to celebrate the 67th birth anniversary of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. As many as 1 crore saplings were planted across the state.