PMC raises garbage collection fee by Rs 5, introduces fines for waste pickers

As per the revised rate for door-to-door segregated waste collection services, residential houses will have to pay Rs 85 each, Rs 170 per commercial property and Rs 65 per house in slums.

The civic administration has also decided to penalise SWaCH if there is an area where the problem of waste emerging due to waste pickers persists. A penalty of Rs 500 will be imposed on the waste picker concerned and if it is repeated three times then the work in the area will be taken away from the SWaCH organisation and given to another waste collection agency.

The collectors are supposed to deposit the garbage collected with civic waste collecting vehicles at feeder points,. “It is the responsibility of SWaCH representatives to keep the feeder point clean and if it is found to be unclean, then the waste picker of the area will be penalised,” Kadam said.

Apart from SWaCH, the PMC will also involve other organisations with over 100 staff to collect waste on a pilot basis for a duration of 11 months, Kadam said. He added that these organisations will be allowed to collect waste for a fee just the same way SWaCH has been allowed to do so.