Nilesh Deshmukh, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, PCMC, said industrial units, which are based on 1000 square feet of land, will have to pay a Rs 100 user charge per month. (Express file photo) With the Standing Committee of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) Wednesday deciding to impose user charges under Solid Waste Management Rules, 2019, on industrial units, industrial associations in the Pimpri-Chinchwad-MIDC area said they will strongly oppose the move.
User charges ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 500 will be applicable for industrial units for services such as collection, disposal, and processing of garbage under the Solid Waste Management Rules, civic officials have said.
“The standing committee on Wednesday approved the administrative proposal for imposing user charges on industrial units and commercial spaces like shops, hotels, and entertainment centres. and educational institutes. The charges for industrial units range from Rs 100 to Rs 500 depending on their area,” Nilesh Deshmukh, Assistant Municipal Commissioner, PCMC, told The Indian Express.
Deshmukh said industrial units, which are based on 1000 square feet of land, will have to pay a Rs 100 user charge per month. “While those based on 1001 to 3000 square feet of land will have to pay Rs 200 user charge per month. Similarly, the charges will be Rs 300 for industrial units based on 300 square feet of land and Rs 500 for those based on 5000 and more square feet of land,” he said.
Deshmukh said the charges for shops, entertainment centres, and hotels would range from Rs 90 to Rs 200 per month. The charges would be accommodated in the property tax bill which is sent twice a year, he added.
Sandeep Belsare, President, Pimpri-Chinchwad Small Scale Industries Association told The Indian Express Thursday they will lead a delegation to the PCMC commissioner and urge him to withdraw the user charges. “We will not accept the user charges. PCMC has no right to impose user charges on us without doing anything tangible for us,” said Abhay Bhor, President, Forum For Small Industries Association.
Belsare said the charges are too high and are not acceptable to them. “As it is, PCMC has been for years collecting taxes from us but has not provided even a semblance of civic amenities. First, they didn’t care for us and now they are demanding money from us. This is not justified. We will launch a protest if PCMC refuses to accept our demand of withdrawing the charges,” he said.
Bhor said, “PCMC should first accept our demands for providing basic amenities for industrial workers. For instance, there are hundreds of women working in the MIDC area. However, there are no separate toilet facilities for them. Similarly, be it a drainage system or proper roads, PCMC has always neglected the MIDC area. Without even bothering to take care of our needs, it wants to impose high charges on us. Whose responsibility it is to dispose of garbage? Isn’t it PCMC’s responsibility? It is already collecting various charges from citizens why does it need to impose another charge on us.”
The PCMC administration, however, said very few industrial units fall under the 5000 square feet bracket. “A majority of the industrial units in Pimpri-Chinchwad MIDC are small-scale ones which would have to pay Rs 100 or Rs 200 user charges per month,” Deshmukh said.
Municipal Commissioner Shekhar Singh said, “Whatever is being done is as per the Central Government rules. PCMC on its own is not doing it. The Central Government wants civic bodies to charge citizens for garbage collection, disposal, and processing. The system is being enforced across the country and not just in Pimpri-Chinchwad.”
While PCMC claims it has around 4000 industrial registered with them, the Association said they are more than 10,000 industrial units not only in the Pimpri-Chinchwad-Bhosari area but also in Talawade, Chikhli, and other neighbouring areas.