The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has formulated new rules to improve waste management in Lutyens' Delhi. According to senior officials, under these rules it will be mandatory to separate the waste into four different categories at the source itself. A provision has also been made to impose heavy fines on those who violate the rules. Under the new rules, the monthly user charge for waste management will also be increased. Provision has also been made for the formation of community patrollers and sanitation committees to ensure compliance with the rules in the NDMC area. They will play a role in monitoring compliance with the rules related to waste management at the local level. The council has approved new waste management rules. Now these will be sent to the Union Home Ministry for final notification. These rules can be implemented after the necessary process is completed by the Ministry.
Four separate compartments for waste in auto-tipper
According to a senior NDMC official, the auto-tipper that collects door-to-door garbage has four different parts. A helper has also been deployed with each auto-tipper, so that the garbage can be divided into different categories during collection itself. The system of 'primary collection' has also been clarified in the new rules. This involves directly collecting waste separated at source from households and other waste generating sites and transporting it to secondary storage or transfer points. It has also been proposed to increase the monthly user charge in the new rules. According to officials, the proposed charges will be higher than the user charges fixed in the notification issued in 2018.
Increase in monthly garbage fee, everything from homes to restaurants will be affected.
Under the new waste management rules of NDMC, it has been proposed to increase the monthly user charge for different categories. According to officials, the fee will be decided based on the category of the waste generator and the services provided to him. As per the proposed rates, the monthly fee for residential houses up to 50 square meters will be increased from Rs 50 to Rs 100. At the same time, the fee for plots of 50 to 200 square meters will increase from Rs 100 to Rs 200 and for houses larger than 200 square meters, the fee will increase from Rs 200 to Rs 300. There is a proposal to increase the monthly fee for roadside vendors from Rs 100 to Rs 200. Similarly, the fee for guest houses and dharamshalas will be increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000.
Fees for restaurants will also increase
It is proposed to increase the monthly user charge for restaurants with a capacity of up to 50 seats from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000. At the same time, restaurants with seating capacity more than this will have to pay Rs 4,500 per month instead of Rs 3,000. According to an NDMC official, the basic principle behind fixing the user charge is to determine the fee based on the category of the waste generator and the services provided to him.
If garbage is not separated, fine increased, strictness from RWA to hotel
The amount of fines and penalties has also been increased in the proposed new waste management rules of NDMC. Under the rules, separate penalties will be imposed for different categories of waste for not segregating it at source. The fine for not separating garbage in homes has been increased from Rs 200 to Rs 500. Whereas for commercial establishments like clubs and cinema halls, this amount is proposed to be increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,500 and for wedding and banquet halls from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000.
Rs 7,500 fine for burning garbage in the open
Strictness has also been increased on burning garbage in the open. The fine for this has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,500. At the same time, a fine of Rs 500 instead of Rs 200 will be imposed on vendors who do not dispose of waste properly. A provision for higher fine has also been made for establishments and institutions that generate large amounts of waste. For not following the rules, a fine of up to Rs 15,000 can be imposed on RWAs, Rs 30,000 on market associations and Rs 74,000 on hotels. Earlier their amounts were Rs 10,000, 20,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.
Emphasis on recycling instead of just disposing of waste
According to NDMC officials, the purpose of the new waste management system is not just to collect garbage and transport it to some place and dispose of it. In the new system, more emphasis will be laid on separating waste at source, extracting useful material from it, recycling and processing in a decentralized manner. According to the official, the objective of the system is to extract maximum useful resources from the waste, so that maximum part of the waste can be reused or recycled. Under the new system, efforts will be made to ensure that only that waste is sent for final disposal, which cannot be reused or processed in any way. This will focus on reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and making waste management more sustainable.
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