Chief minister Tarun Gogoi inaugurates the solid waste management project. File picture

Jan. 29: The Guwahati Municipal Corporation has decided to penalise those who refuse to give garbage to cartpullers engaged by it for door-to-door collection of solid waste in the city.

An official said the collection of “users’ charges” by the Guwahati Waste Management Company Pvt Ltd was not up to the “desired level”, as a “sizeable” number of households and commercial establishments had not only refused to pay the charge but had also stopped using the door-to-door waste collection facility.

The GMC has fixed Rs 50 per month as users’ charge for residential houses within the Guwahati municipal area. The charges for commercial establishments vary depending on the size and nature of the business.

Quoting a notification issued by the GMC, the official said the corporation had requested the residents to hand over solid waste to cartpullers daily. “Through this notification, which was issued a couple of days ago, the GMC also urged all concerned to refrain from throwing garbage at public places such as drains, roads and pavements to keep the city clean,” he added.

The offenders will be punished according to the bylaws laid down in the GMC Act, which includes imposition of fine up to Rs 500. “Habitual offenders will have to face legal action,” the official said.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi had inaugurated the Rs 102.16-crore integrated solid waste management project on October 29. The scheme, which involves collection of waste from doorsteps, its transportation and treatment for a period of 20 years, is the first project in Assam to be developed through public-private partnership.

A few months after the project was launched, it was observed that some individuals and commercial establishments, who had initially co-operated with the cartpullers, stopped giving garbage when the were asked to pay the users’ charge.