MUMBAI: BMC’s solid waste management department has proposed a charge of Rs 235 per household on residents of buildings classified as bulk waste generators (BWGs) that fail to process their solid waste on their premises.TOI was the first to report on Oct 15 that BMC was working on a proposal to charge individual residential flats in BWG buildings that do not have facilities to process wet waste on their premises; however, the amount was yet to be finalised.
bulk waste generators
Officials, however, justifying the move, have said that the same is aimed at enforcing the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, which place greater responsibility on bulk waste generators to manage and process the waste they produce.A BMC official said, “ These requirements are part of a nationwide regulatory framework and are being implemented under the Supreme Court’s continuing directions and monitoring. BMC’s proposed framework is intended to facilitate compliance rather than merely impose charges.”Mumbai currently generates around 7,000 metric tonnes of solid waste daily, apart from a similar quantum of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. Under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, premises are classified as bulk waste generators if they meet any one of three criteria: a floor area of at least 20,000 sq m, daily water consumption of at least 40,000 litres, or daily waste generation of at least 100 kg.Meeting even one of these thresholds is sufficient for a premises to qualify as a BWG. The proposed charge of Rs 235 per household has been calculated based on BMC’s expenditure on solid waste management, which currently stands at about Rs 3,500 per tonne.The charges will not be immediately levied but after a period of three months, during which the civic body plans to encourage bulk waste generators to undertake scientific processing of waste on their premises.Civic officials said that BWGs that undertake scientific processing of waste at their premises may receive a property tax rebate of up to 15%.“Where individual societies lack adequate space or infrastructure, neighbouring societies may come together, form a special purpose vehicle and establish a common BMC-approved processing facility.“Only qualifying residential BWGs that are unable to process wet waste, obtain exemption and hand over such waste to BMC for collection, transportation and scientific processing will come under the Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility certificate mechanism.UBT Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray said, “The BJP is only trying to squeeze the citizens at all levels.”
