From the next financial year in April, Delhi residents will have to cough up a user fee for waste disposal.
The quantum of the fees will be fixed by the municipal corporation
after the Delhi High Court reviews a report submitted by Delhi State
Legal Service Authority (DSLA) that was tasked to frame guidelines for
the new solid waste management (SWM).
The SWM is expected to start in Delhi from April 2018.
The DSLA report recommends the imposition of a user fee on all waste
generating units, which include households, cooperative group housing
societies, small shops, eateries, fruit and vegetable vendors, and
dwelling units in unauthorised colonies. The DSLA, which has listed out
all the waste generating units in its report, has not fixed the quantum
of user fee.
“The DSLA was given the task to identify waste generating units and
fix the role of different authorities. The committee has prepared the
report with the help of government authorities and has submitted it to
the High Court. The new SWM rule will come into effect from April 2018.
Households and approved colonies will have to ensure that wet and dry
waste are segregated at the source level. The High Court will examine
our reports and then the MCD will be asked to fix the amount of user
charges,” Sanjeev Jain, a member of the DSLA, said.
According to the DSLA report, managing waste generated in
unauthorised colonies has proven to be a big challenge for the civic
bodies. The committee also identified as major waste generating sources
roadside waste by street vendors and a complete lack of on-site waste
management in a number of vegetable and fruit markets.
The DSLA also pointed out that even in posh residential colonies, the
response for waste segregation programme was poor. But poor
infrastructure of municipal bodies was proving to be a hindrance in
making the campaign successful.
“To encourage on-source waste segregation, the DSLA has recommended
that municipal bodies introduce an incentive-based plan. But the final
call has been left to the MCDs,” Jain said.
