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Don’t pay charges to informal garbage collectors, says Chandigarh MC
The charges paid to informal waste lifters will not be adjusted by the municipal corporation, which is collecting them through twin-bin vehicle drivers
The Chandigarh municipal corporation on Tuesday asked the city residents to pay garbage collection charges only to its representatives and not to informal cart-based waste lifters.
The civic body in a public notice stated: “If any resident pays the waste collection charges to the door-to-door collector, then it will be sole liability of the resident and the amount paid will not be adjusted by the municipal corporation.”
The MC started door-to-door garbage collection project through motorised vehicles in Sector 1 to 30 in December last year, and extended it to other areas in March and April. The civic body is presently collecting waste collection charges through its drivers using point-of-sale (POS) machines, and plans to add the charges to water bills in a couple of months.
Residents have repeatedly raised concerns over the issue, especially in areas where both MC vehicles and cart-based collectors are turning up.
“There is total chaos because the MC is not doing its work. If cart-based collectors are coming and collecting garbage in place of MC vehicles, then why shouldn’t residents pay them? The MC should make it clear on the ground and not just on paper,” said Baljinder Singh Bittu, chairman, Federation of Sector Welfare Associations of Chandigarh, adding that the MC vehicles don’t come regularly.
RK Garg, president, Second Innings Association, said: “It is the responsibility of the MC to resolve this issue rather than put all the burden on residents. It is between the MC and collectors. Residents will pay to the service provider.”
