PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE / Dehradun
With littering and non-utilisation of the door-to-door garbage collection service continuing to affect Dehradun’s civic sanitation, the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) is planning to penalise those not using the door-to-door service. Municipal commissioner Namami Bansal said that a large number of households in the city are allegedly avoiding the monthly waste user charge of Rs 70 by not handing over garbage to door-to-door collection vehicles and instead dumping waste in public places.
Bansal stated that garbage is often found dumped in drains, vacant plots, roadside corners and even rivers, despite regular waste collection services operating in most parts of the city.
She said that the corporation had earlier directed teams and self-help groups involved in waste collection to identify households that are not paying the user charge. “We had asked for a proper list of households that are not paying the user charge. Self-help groups, companies and drivers engaged in waste collection may have information about such houses, so they were asked to provide details,” she said.
The municipal commissioner further said that notices will be issued to such households asking how they are disposing of their waste if they are not giving it to collection vehicles whenever the list comes. “If they are either not paying at all or handling over waste but not paying the user charge, it will be treated as non-compliance,” she added.
She added that some residents allegedly burn waste outside their homes or quietly dump garbage in drains, rivers and empty plots while leaving for work or other daily activities. This has become one of the reasons behind garbage accumulation in several parts of the city, she added. Bansal said that penalties for non-payment have already been defined under the existing user charge rules and public notices regarding enforcement will also be issued. Any person not found paying for the service or not using it will be charged a Rs 500 penalty.She added that while nearly half the households regularly hand over waste and pay the user charge, many others still remain outside the system. Improving compliance is important for maintaining sanitation services and reducing illegal dumping across the city, Bansal added.
