Delhi RWAs, political parties unite against MCD’s garbage collection fee
Delhi generates more than 11,000 tonnes of garbage every day, which come from around 4.3 million households
New Delhi
Residents’ welfare associations (RWAs) were up in arms over the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD’s) move to collect garbage user charge along with property tax, with RWAs alleging the fee will “further penalise honest taxpayers” and questioning if private door-to-door garbage collectors—who cover a majority of the city—will have to be made redundant or if they must make double payments.
The direction has also emerged as a flashpoint in the corporation, where both the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposed the move. While the AAP criticised linking property tax with it and rapped the MCD commissioner for allegedly bypassing the house, BJP leaders staged a protest at the MCD commissioner’s residence.
Sanjay Rana, general secretary of Greater Kailash-II Welfare Association said that imposing a garbage fee without first ensuring uniform, efficient, and segregated waste collection was a wasted effort. “Quality and consistency of service have remained a concern. The corporation should first streamline services, address gaps in collection, and only then consider a nominal and reasonable user fee, ideally after stakeholder consultation,” he said.
Rajesh Panwar, who heads the Vasant Kunj RWA federation, said: “We oppose this new fee completely. The sanitation services are already poor and private waste collectors collect waste from houses and take to dhalao (receptacle). Why should we pay both private collectors and MCD for same service?”
Delhi generates more than 11,000 tonnes of garbage every day, which come from around 4.3 million households. The waste ends up in dhalaos and is further carried to landfills, waste-to-energy plants and composting units. On paper, corporation claims 100% door-to-door collection but the figure has been repeatedly contested by residents. MCD has the capacity to process of around 7,200 tonnes of waste per day, leaving a processing gap of more than 3,800 tonnes per day.
According to the proposal, MCD plans to levy garbage fee of ₹50-200 per month for residential properties and even higher rates for commercial units. This will translate to additional payment of ₹600 for houses smaller than 50 square metres to ₹2,400 per year for houses bigger than 200sqm. Of around 4.3 million households in Delhi, only 1.3 million pay house tax to MCD.
Mayor Mahesh Kumar Khichi of the AAP said in a press conference on Tuesday that private concessionaires hired by the corporation were not undertaking door-to-door waste collection. “The proposal dates to 2016 and the commissioner is now implementing it on the BJP’s direction. They want us to take blame for it,” the mayor alleged.
Leader of the house Mukesh Goyal said that the move may lead to property tax collections going down. The AAP maintained that the mayor and house of councillors were bypassed by the commissioner to implement the fee.
On the other hand, leader of the opposition from BJP Raja Iqbal Singh also held a protest outside the mayor’s office. In a sit-in protest, he alleged the AAP and MCD colluded to impose this charge.
MCD did not respond to requests for comment on the issue.
Waste collection gaps
Last year, an assessment by the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad—commissioned by the MCD—found that around 7% of the garbage (around 770 tonnes per day) was not collected and leaks from primary collection and 20% is dumped at oversaturated dump sites. The study found that only 43% of garbage ends up at dhalaos and dustbins, while 40% came under vantage point collection and 10% by informal sector of waste pickers.
The audit flagged the shortcomings in the primary waste collection and collection efficiency in different zone. The report found that primary waste collection varies—for instance, from 17% in Rohini to 78% in Najafgarh—across the 12 zones with an average of about 48% for the entire MCD area. ASCI recommended the MCD implement a pilot system with the help of NGOs in 12 wards (one in each zone) and scale it up in phases.
Bharati Chaturvedi, environmentalist and founder of Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group, which specialises in waste management, said: “MCD should not be charging them. Waste collectors should be charging the people. This will exclude waste collectors. If the money is going to MCD, the MCD is not going to give it to them. Municipality is displacing the poor instead of including them in the management. Waste collectors earn by providing service.”
Lack of clarity
Residents in the northern part of the city said the private collectors were rampant.
Ashok Bhasin, president of North Delhi residents’ welfare federation, said that the user charge issue was taken up by RWAs with the lieutenant governor and chief minister in 2018, and it was decided a fee will not be imposed without consultation.
“We have three questions: What happens to these waste collectors hired by the families as people won’t pay both? Why are taxpayers being made to pay additional charge even as non-tax payers being allowed to go scot free? And, who will ensure service delivery in exchange of these charges?” he said.
BS Vohra, who heads East Delhi RWA joint front said that garbage fee should not be mandatorily linked with property tax. “The two things should not be linked at all. MCD should develop a separate mechanism and provide the option to households, whether they want to opt for door-to-door collection. If the service is good, people may opt for it. This is double penalty for taxpayers and a poorly thought-out idea,” he said.
Atul Goyal of URJA, a federation of RWAs, said the user fee was being imposed without planning and RWAs will oppose the move. “RWAs are managing waste collection in so many areas....This user fee idea also defeats the idea of zero waste colony and encouraging people to segregate. The MCD wants to provide tax benefits for waste segregation while imposing cost on all taxpayers, irrespective of the waste processing level,” he said.
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