Patna, July 27: Residents would soon have to pay up to keep the city spick and span with door-to-door garbage collection set to become chargeable.

The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) board on Saturday approved the proposal for collection of user charges under the upcoming solid waste management project for the state capital. A third party would provide the garbage collection service, under public-private partnership mode.

Residents seemed open to paying the charges. “Rs 60 per month does not seem high for average households. So, we are ready to pay the charges, provided the service is regular,” said Avinash Kumar, a Gardanibagh resident.

Commercial establishments said the charges should be fixed on the basis of garbage generated by them. “Paying Rs 10,000 per month for garbage collection seems to be a hefty amount. Our restaurant might not be generating so much garbage,” said an employee of Hotel Windsor.

Mayor Afzal Imam said: “Machines and equipment to be used for waste collection and disposal work may need maintenance or replacement after an estimated five years. So the board gave its nod to minimal user charges against door-to-door waste collection.”

The board also approved the proposal to impose penalty for spilling garbage. Residents of buildings around which garbage is found strewn would be fined Rs 100 for each instance and throwing debris on roads would attract a penalty of Rs 1,000 for each instance. The board also gave the green light to the proposal of allocating Rs 10 lakh under non-planned expenditure for development schemes in every ward, amid a walkout by some councillors.

“There was no formal document against this proposal,” said Vinay Kumar Pappu, former deputy mayor and councillor from ward number 28.

GREEN LIGHT

Monthly door-to-door garbage collection charges
Households: Rs 60
Shops: Rs 300
Restaurants: Rs 1000
Hotels: Rs 10000

Penalising those who dump garbage/debris on roads

Registering fixed assets in municipal area and preparing fixed assets register