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Messy garbage bills by MC leave Chandigarh residents riled
Residents complain charges being levied for periods already paid for, say arrears charged at higher rates without any clarity about hike
Over six months after it started door-to-door garbage collection, the municipal corporation has not only failed to streamline the process but its garbage billing is also riddled with issues.
Residents complain the corporation is overcharging them through arrears and also not providing clarity on how the charges are being calculated.
While earlier MC was collecting these charges through POS machines, now it has started adding the amount to the water bills.
In the latest cycle, Sector 22 residents have received combined bills, which they say are anything but transparent.
Confusion is rife as along with overcharging, MC has failed to specify how arrears have been levied and in some cases, charges have been imposed even when residents have paid them already.
Residents who used to pay ₹400 to ₹600 for four to six months, are now getting bills upward of ₹1,400.
“How have the rates suddenly shot up from ₹100 per month? Arrears of six months should be ₹600, but MC has imposed a charge of ₹1,500. Charges are being levied arbitrarily,” said a Sector 22 resident, who didn’t want to be named.
“MC is legally bound to mention on the bill how the rates have been charged. But there is no clarity. Worse, the garbage collection system is also replete with issues. MC vehicles just blow the horn and leave if they get no response,” said Rakesh Mittal, a retired chief engineer from the Punjab government, who also lives in the sector.
Residents, who have already paid charges through POS collectors, have also received bills with arrears.
“Since MC started collecting garbage, we have cleared all the bills. I have the receipts too. But now we have got a bill of ₹1,550. I will have to waste a whole day to get this rectified at the MC office,” said Anmol Mahna, a resident of Sector 22.
Another resident of the sector, requesting anonymity, said MC learnt no lesson from similar goof-ups in other sectors, causing harassment to more people.
The redress system, recently constituted by the MC commissioner, is also tardy, say residents.
“The medical officer of health should organise door-to-door visits or localised weekend meetings through sanitary inspectors to settle such issues. A process is also needed for how to get the charges suspended if the house is unoccupied or garbage is not collected for a certain period. The current system is far from effective,” said Vinod Vashisht, convener, City Forum of Residents Welfare Organisations.
On MC’s part, medical officer of health Dr Amrit Warring said, “We are attending to each and every complaint promptly. We have received 250 complaints regarding garbage collection charges. Of these around 35 are for overcharging, while others relate to incorrect calculation of kitchens in a dwelling unit, etc.”
