KMC asks commercial setups to pay conservancy service fee

Kolkata: In a bid to enforce its waste collection rule, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is sending notices to commercial establishments asking them to pay the solid waste removal charges without which neither can they obtain or get their trade licences renewed.

In 2023, KMC began sending bills to commercial establishments that are more than 500 sq ft. Such a service fee is charged for proper disposal of the bulk waste generated by such establishments. This has also opened up a revenue earning path for the civic body.

However, sources said that several such big commercial establishments are not following the protocol set for disposal of waste. There are provisions of fine for such violations but the KMC instead of taking the path for imposing penalty is trying to solve the problem at the root level. Thus, now it seeks to add more teeth to the rule of paying for such service fee at the time of obtaining or renewing trade licence. It was learnt that soon a proposal drawn up at a recent Member-Mayor-In-Council (MMIC) meeting to enforce the rules is likely to be taken up at the monthly meeting for final approval. Sources said many want to pay advance money for the trade licence renewal at one go for the next five to ten years. In such cases, the civic body will collect the conservancy service fee for that many years.

Last year, the KMC had given a breather to commercial establishments measuring 500sqft or lesser by not charging them such a fee which only applies to establishments above 500sqft. The small-time traders had complained that it was an excessively high rate for them.