MCG garbage tax row: Residents billed despite no collection system

Charges of ₹200– ₹600 added to bills due to a “technical glitch”, officials say, assuring no penalties as residents either paid or withheld the disputed amount.

Residents across Gurugram have raised concerns after a garbage collection tax was levied in their March property tax bills by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), despite the absence of a fully functional door-to-door waste collection system.

Many societies rely on private vendors, paying monthly fees, while civic body says levy will apply only after full door-to-door system is implemented. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

According to residents, the tax, ranging from ₹200 to ₹600, appeared in recent property tax invoices, triggering widespread objections. Many pointed out that the levy had previously been zero and questioned its inclusion without corresponding services.

Several residents also said they are already paying private vendors between ₹100 and ₹200 per month for waste collection, as many sectors continue to rely on such arrangements in the absence of a permanent municipal system.

Rajesh Gera, RWA president of Surya Vihar, Sector 21, said that almost every resident in the society has been charged ₹600. “When some of the residents downloaded the house tax invoice, we were all shocked to see charges under garbage collection tax. MCG is collecting this tax from us without imposing any door-to-door waste collection in our society, so why should we pay this? Our society collectively is already paying around ₹25,000 every month,” he said.

Kusum Sharma, chairperson of Suncity RWA at Sector 54, said residents in her area already manage their waste independently. “Over at Suncity, we are handling and processing our waste on our own, so why should we pay extra to MCG? They have not given any justification. The amount should be zero, and no resident should pay a penny for that. There is no permanent mechanism for door-to-door waste collection, yet charging such an amount from every resident is amusing,” she said.

An MCG official, requesting anonymity, said the garbage collection tax is part of the bill but should currently be zero. “There is some technical glitch in this case. We will rectify this as soon as possible. The online portal still reflects the amount, which should ideally be zero,” the official said. While several residents said they have already paid, others have chosen to withhold payment for now.

Ravindra Yadav, additional commissioner of the MCG, said the tax is not applicable at present due to the incomplete waste collection system. “Once the tenders are issued and door-to-door garbage collection is properly in place, the tax will be levied on residents. We have already informed the headquarters about this error and it will be rectified soon,” he said.

Currently, a stopgap arrangement is in place with previous tenders extended till June. However, residents have flagged that door-to-door waste collection remains inconsistent in several societies and sectors, forcing them to rely on private vendors instead of MCG contractors.

MCG officials said the charge is a billing error that will be rectified soon and clarified that no penalties will be imposed on residents for non-payment, as many have already withheld the disputed tax.

MCG officials have said that this an error which will be rectified soon. No such penalties will be put upon residents for non-payment as several of them have withheld the tax payment.

Earlier this year, the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) department approved a five-year door-to-door garbage collection proposal. However, the ₹325-crore tender has been delayed. The tender, which was scheduled to be floated on February 23, has hit a roadblock due to administrative issues and low participation from contractors.