The local government in Chandigarh has separated charges for commercial property owners regarding doorstep waste collection from property tax statements. Commercial property owners will now receive waste disposal fees alongside their bi-monthly water bills. The resolution was made in response to grievances from property owners who received bills that were considerably higher than previous years. The MC has also planned to construct a new integrated waste processing plant for complete waste processing. The new plant will handle 550 MT of daily waste and have facilities for dry, wet, and horticulture waste.
In response to grievances voiced by commercial property owners regarding the inclusion of a fixed yearly fee for doorstep waste collection in their property tax statements, the local government has resolved to separate these charges starting in the fiscal year 2023-24. From now on, commercial property owners will receive waste disposal fees alongside their bi-monthly water bills. Properties that lack access to water connections shall be issued a separate invoice for garbage disposal services.
During a meeting chaired by Chandigarh's mayor, Anup Gupta, at the MC office this week, a resolution was made. Attending the event were MC commissioner Anindita Mitra, officials, and traders/industries associations representatives from Chandigarh.
MC started commercial door-to-door garbage collection on April 1, collecting from 108 points, including shops, eateries, spas, and salons. Charges varied from Rs 150 to Rs 5,000 per month based on establishment size. MC has recently added garbage collection fees to property tax invoices for the current fiscal year as it was discovered that not all commercial properties were connected to the water supply.
Consequently, certain property owners received bills up to Rs 70,000 for the year, which they claimed was considerably higher than previous years. They also complained about MC charging exorbitant fees for garbage collection despite missed days. RTI activist RK Garg requested MC officials to delink garbage collection charges from water and property tax bills due to violations of Solid Waste Management Rules. Mayor Anup Gupta assured traders and industries that the issue would be discussed at the next General House meeting, including their demand for reduced garbage charges.
On May 13, the MC was scheduled to discuss an integrated solid waste processing plant project in Sector 25. The plant will handle 550 MT of daily waste and have three facilities for dry, wet, and horticulture waste. It will cover 20 acres at Dadumajra landfill. The city generates 550 MT of waste daily, with 200 MT dry and 350 MT wet.
The new plant, with a capacity of 600 metric tonnes (MT) per day, is designed to address the city's daily garbage output of 550 MT. After clearing the area, it will be built on 20 acres of the Dadumajra dump. The city generates around 550 MT of garbage per day, with approximately 200 MT being dry and 350 MT being moist.
In February, MC agreed to follow the advice of CSIR-NEERI in Nagpur to transform the plant's wet waste into biomethane and compressed natural gas (CNG) and repurpose dry waste into refuse-derived fuel. For almost ten years, most of the urban trash has been deposited without any treatment at the Dadumajra landfill site. In June 2020, MC acquired possession of the pre-existing plant previously owned by the Jaypee Group. Despite efforts, the plant still handles less than 50 MT of the 550 MT of garbage produced in the city each day.
IIT Roorkee suggested an updated waste processing plant at Dadumajra in 2020. The current plant operates at 40% capacity, prompting the MC to construct a new integrated plant for complete waste processing.
Waste material, commonly referred to as garbage, trash, rubbish or refuse, is material that people dispose of typically because it is deemed useless. The definition usually excludes solid human excrement, as well as non-solid waste such as liquids or gases, and harmful residue. Waste materials that are categorized as garbage comprise of various types, such as household, farming, commercial, and industrial waste. There are several reasons why waste is on the rise, including an increase in population, urbanization, economic development, and the shopping patterns of consumers. Annually, people generate an enormous quantity of trash that is becoming an increasingly significant problem globally.
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