Bhubaneswar, Oct. 31: Be it the Odisha capital or a district headquarters town such as Baripada, citizens will shortly have to pay monthly user fees against the services provided by the urban local bodies (ULBs) across the state.

Services such as collection of solid waste and maintenance of vending zones, apart from other recreational facilities will be brought under the purview of the ULBs.

The user fee collection from parking and public toilets is already in place.

However, the Odisha government advisory exempts children up to five years of age from paying the fees for using parks and other recreational facilities. But, children of six to 12 years will have to give Rs 5 in Category I cities, Rs 4 in Category II cities and Rs 3 in Category III cities per month.

The biggest collection will be from the municipal solid waste. Each household has to provide Rs 10 to Rs 30 per month depending on the type of city and an institution or commercial establishment has to tender Rs 100 to Rs 300 per month to dispose of its waste.

“Nasik has implemented the scheme, and now, there is a reduction of dustbins to 90 per cent. The civic body there saves Rs 5 crore a year. We will replicate a similar model after the municipal council meeting next month,” said commissioner of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Sanjib Kumar Mishra. The civic body is mulling to implement the collection of “extra fees” with the holding tax collection and people will get receipt for it.

Operation and maintenance costs are going up in the ULBs and people’s participation has become necessary in civic administration. “When people will pay for services, they will also safeguard the property and facilities. Hope the proposal will be translated in a positive way to the grassroots level,” said urban management practitioner Piyush Ranjan Rout.

The Centre has decided to stop the ULB grants. “We will implement it, so that we won’t have to depend on subsidies anymore,” said an official of the housing and urban development department. The ULBs are empowered to impose user fees under Chapter XII of the Orissa Municipal Act, 1950, and the Orissa Municipal Corporation Act, 2003.

Sibadutta Kar, a resident of Balasore town, however, said: “People are definitely going to pay the fees. But, there should be a proper benchmarking of the quality.”