Kolkata: The Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is introducing fixed and slab-wise monthly user fees for door-to-door solid waste collection under its final solid waste management (SWM) by-law, which comes into effect on Thursday.
Notified in line with the Centre's SWM Rules, 2016, the by-law applies to residential buildings and commercial establishments across Salt Lake and Rajarhat Gopalpur. It mandates segregation of waste at source, provides for setting up recycling centres for dry waste, and empowers the civic body to impose fines for violations of the SWM norms.
BMC has also issued a public notice urging residents to comply with the by-law from Thursday to ensure smooth and effective implementation of the solid waste management system and to promote a healthy, hygienic environment.
According to the notification, the by-law will apply to all domestic, institutional, commercial and other non-residential solid waste generators within the BMC area, excluding industrial waste, hazardous waste and chemicals, biomedical waste, e-waste, lead-acid batteries and radioactive waste, which are governed by separate rules under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The by-law proposes fixed, slab-wise monthly user charges for waste collection from residential buildings and commercial establishments. Houses with a built-up area of less than 500 sq ft will be charged Rs 50 per month, while those between 500 sq ft and under 1,200 sq ft will pay Rs 75. Properties with a built-up area of 1,200 sq ft to 3,000 sq ft will be charged Rs 100 per month, and buildings measuring 3,000 sq ft and above will pay Rs 150 per month.
The user fee slabs will automatically increase by 5% per year with effect from Jan 1 of each successive year.
The by-law also empowers the civic body to impose fines for violations of the SWM rules, to be levied and collected on the spot by designated officers. For instance, residential waste generators may be fined Rs 200 for non-segregation at the first instance, Rs 300 for a second offence, and Rs 400 for each subsequent violation.
For the production, distribution, storage, sale or use of plastic or thermocol, the offender could be charged a fine of Rs 5,000 at the first instance, Rs 7,000 for the second instance, and Rs 10,000 for every repeated instance thereafter.