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Mumbai: Every home to pay between Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 for solid waste, says BMC

Citizens saddled with another civic service bill? The BMC has sought legal advice on how to go about implementing a levy for Solid Waste Management on Mumbaikars, and is considering charging from Rs 100 up to Rs 1,000 from every household per month as fees for handling solid waste generated in each home. The legal advice undertaken is for the BMC to work out how to modify the Mumbai Municipal Act of 1888, under which the service is obligatory.

The discussion to levy a user fee was initiated by the BMC back in December. An official said, “According to the rule in the 2016 Solid Waste Management Guideline of the Union Government, there was a suggestion of waste collection fees. We are just following the norms as stated in the same document. The BMC is revising solid waste norms in general, but the new levy will be added to these norms once it is revised.” 

A senior civic official confirmed that the BMC has been looking at the legality surrounding the implementation of the collection fees, “We have asked a legal expert to suggest a way to implement the fee levy. According to the MMC Act of 1888, solid waste management is an obligatory duty. So before collecting any such levies, the BMC needs to modify the Act,” he said. The consensus is to collect fees per household and that the estimated amount will be from Rs 100 to Rs 1,00 decided according to the size of the home (within the range) and collected on a monthly basis. There will also be a different rate for commercial users, estimated to be around Rs 500 to Rs 5,500.

“The BMC’s plan to levy fees based on sq ft size of the home is highly skewed as affluent areas have less density per flat vis a vis LIG areas. Fees should be based on the quantum generated and not on the size of the flat. Big rethink on the plan is needed,” said Dhaval Shah, founder of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association. The 2016 Solid Waste Management Rule, mentions that a fee can be imposed by the local body on the waste generator to recover full or part cost of providing solid waste collection, transport and disposal service. Sanjay Gurav, a resident of Fort, said, “Collecting waste is an obligatory duty. Why is BMC imposing a new fee on citizens?”

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