Chennai Corporation to start charging for trash collection

CHENNAI: City residents will soon have to pay Chennai Corporation to have trash removed from their homes. Senior Corporation officials say the civic body is going to introduce conservancy charges in a few months after making changes to its bylaws.

The Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016 allow civic bodies to charge for conservancy operations. “Outlying municipalities have implemented these provisions. Chennai Corporation will also start charging for conservancy operations soon,” said a senior Corporation official. The rate slabs will be determined by property tax. Officials said the charges would be similar to those collected by outlying municipalities. Pallavaram Municipality charges Rs 30 to Rs 60 per month.

The move comes even as the Corporation is taking steps to completely outsource solid waste management operations. Solid waste collection has been outsourced in only three of the 15 zones. Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani did not announce these changes when the department’s demands were heard in Assembly. Former Mayor M Subramanian criticised both moves. “Corporation’s primary responsibility is to remove garbage. Charging residents for this is unacceptable. Outsourcing will not solve the problem,” he said.