East Delhi civic body proposes charge for clearing garbage

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) said it will focus on the implementation of notified MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) rules 2016 to improve sanitation.

Residents of east Delhi may have to pay the corporation for clearing their garbage from the next financial year.

It will be made mandatory for the garbage generator to pay for garbage under the ‘polluter pays’ norm of MSW rule, from the next financial year. (HT PHOTO)

In its budget proposals presented on Wednesday, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) said that it will focus on the implementation of notified MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) rules 2016 to improve sanitation.

“East corporation is in the process of drafting MSW bye-laws to enable the corporation to enforce the provisions of MSW law. We will also ensure that the generator will segregate the garbage on its own before handling it to garbage collectors,” said Mohanjeet Singh, commissioner, EDMC.

It will be made mandatory for the garbage generator to pay for garbage under ‘polluter pays’ norm of MSW rule, from the next financial year.

Besides sanitation, revenue generation was another highlight of the budget. The corporation proposes to ramp up its revenues by levy of new taxes such as education cess and professional tax.

Facing severe financial crunch since its formation in 2012, the budget estimates for 2017-18 include expenditure of Rs 3,822.13 crore as against an income of Rs1,578.88 crore.

With a budget deficit of Rs 2,243 crore, corporation is looking for alternatives to generate income. “We hope to collect Rs 30 crore by levying new taxes,” said Singh.

The corporation is also hoping to receive Rs 4,928 crore from the Delhi government under the recommendations of fourth Delhi Finance Commission. The payment is pending since 2012-13.

“We need to pay salaries and pension which will take up Rs 590 crore. Similarly the arrears for regularisation of sanitation workers and private contractors amount to Rs 750 crores. We will be able to pay them only when we received funds from Delhi government,” said EDMC official.

The corporation is also working towards 100% digitalisation of services and transaction by April 2017. East corporation is developing a mobile application for residents to use municipal services.

The EDMC also plans to construct a multilevel car parking in Krishna Nagar. It will be built at a cost of R 23 crore.