Ghaziabad residents may be charged for disposal of garbage

The municipal corporation’s executive committee cleared solid waste management and handling bylaws that will allow the agency to collect user charges for disposing solid waste.

The executive committee of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation cleared solid waste management and handling bylaws that will allow the agency to collect user charges from residents for disposing solid waste. The bylaws also have provisions to penalise those found littering solid waste or garbage in the municipal limits.

The bylaws also have provisions to penalise those found littering solid waste or garbage in the municipal limits. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Officials of the corporation said so far, households, establishments, industries or other institutions were not charged for transportation of garbage from the primary collection centres to the disposal site every day.

“The user charges and penal provisions were decided and cleared by the executive committee. Now, the proposal will further move to the corporation board, after which they will be subjected to any amendment. Thereafter, they will be open to public objection. Then, through a process, these will be finalised and published,” said DK Sinha, additional municipal commissioner.

Under the category-wise user charge slabs, the corporation has proposed charges ranging from Rs. 30 to Rs. 70 per month from different households, Rs. 200 to Rs. 650 from fruit and vegetable vendors and movable vans, Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,000 from meat shops, Rs. 700 to Rs. 2,500 from temporary food stalls and restaurants etc.

Charges have also been fixed for private and government offices, schools and educational institutions, hospitals, nursing homes, tea stalls, shops in residential areas, malls, factories, workshops, cinema halls and scrap dealers, among others.

At present, most of the households have hired private collectors who collect garbage and solid waste from households and transport them to the nearest collection centres. From there, corporation vehicles pick up the waste and transport it to the landfill site. The officials said the user charges will be over and above the amount paid to private collectors.

The executive committee also cleared the provisions for imposing penalties on households, restaurants, industries, hotels, meat shops, marriage homes, vendors, saloons, shop owners, hospitals and nursing homes, among others, found littering waste in public places or in the open within the corporation limits. The per day penal charges range from Rs. 100 to Rs. 5,000, depending on the category of users and the type of waste.