The revival of towing operations in Bengaluru is resulting in losses for the corporations, as the fixed payments made to private contractors are higher than the revenue being recovered through fines and towing charges. 

Under the current agreement, each corporation is required to pay ₹12.54 lakh for a three-month period for two towing vehicles, which is about ₹2.09 lakh per vehicle per month. This amount must be paid to the vendors for towing the vehicles and the manpower, regardless of how many vehicles are towed. Of the total money recovered, the towing charges amount will go to the corporations, while the fines will go to the traffic police.

40% loss

For instance, in Bengaluru North, 858 abandoned vehicles — including 436 four-wheelers — were towed from April to June. However, only ₹7.29 lakh was received from the traffic department, compared to the ₹12.54 lakh to be paid to the vendor for the same period, resulting in a loss of around 40% for the corporation. 

North Corporation Commissioner Pommala Sunil Kumar said towing operations were initially delayed as the traffic police cited a lack of suitable land to park the seized vehicles. As a result, a two-acre site was later identified at Kogilu, and the land was handed over through a letter to the Deputy Commissioner on May 9. Despite this, the operations have not picked up pace.

“Now, the previous tender has ended, and a fresh tender has been floated for the deployment of two towing vehicles for one year at an estimated cost of ₹60 lakh. The bids will be opened on July 1. However, the exercise is already becoming a burden for the corporation,” Mr. Kumar said, adding that the challenges will be looked into in coordination with the city traffic police. 

The situation varies across corporations. In the South City Corporation, towing operations are yet to begin but are expected to start next Monday, as per Commissioner Ramesh K.N.

In the East City Corporation, officials said the financial burden is minimal because towing vehicles were procured through CSR funds, and the corporation only bears manpower costs as per minimum wages. 

While the Central City Corporation Commissioner was not available for comment, West City Corporation Commissioner Rajendra K.V., while reflecting on a similar experience, said that the activity is expected to pick up. 

“Towing operations between April 3 and June 23 show that while more vehicles are being lifted every month, the money collected is still not enough to cover the payment for the service,” Mr. Rajendra said. The total revenue from towing exceeded ₹18 lakh, but only ₹11.62 lakh was received by the West City Corporation, and the rest was given to the traffic police. “All measures will be taken now to expand the collection,” the Commissioner said.

The Commissioners also anticipated another challenge, with bidders moving to corporations that pay more per vehicle. Recently, the South City Corporation had agreed to pay over ₹3.5 lakh per vehicle while getting six vehicles. The remaining four corporations have bid below ₹2.5 lakh, with some bidding just ₹2 lakh.

The Commissioners said that even at the current rate, the activity is becoming a loss, and if such an imbalance continues across corporations, bidders will move accordingly. They also argued that the traffic police have been giving multiple reasons to delay the activity, including a lack of land and delays in auctioning the vehicles. 

Joint Commissioner (Traffic) Karthik Reddy, however, argued that each corporation has currently been provided two towing vehicles, except South Zone, which has six. He said the pilot was launched at a small scale, as this was the first coordinated towing operation between the traffic police and the GBA. “How many vehicles can be lifted with a single vehicle? One towing vehicle can handle up to 15 two-wheelers or 5–8 four-wheelers a day, and the initial rollout was kept small before scaling up,” he said. 

Sources in the Traffic Police Department, however, said that the towing vehicles were frequently breaking down, and that staff from the vendor’s side have not been turning up. The same has been communicated to the corporations by respective inspectors, they said.