Housing societies face music for not segregating waste

BMC issues notices warning stringent action if they fail to comply with rules.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sent notices to over 70,000 residential societies to ensure segregation of dry and wet waste. Failure to comply could lead to fines.

The notice warns housing complexes of stringent action, including refusal to collect garbage. The fine ranges from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 depending on the user. It is relatively low for housing societies and high for hotels, restaurants, hospitals and commercial establishments, said officials.

The Municipal Solid Waste Management rules of 2006 mandate segregation of waste at source by residential societies. The BMC has been empowered to refuse collection of waste if it is not segregated. Fines can also be doubled as per the law, said officials.

The civic administration is also devising a more stringent policy on waste segregation. It will soon be tabled before Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte. The civic administration has also formed a technical advisory committee for benchmarking of essential services.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Mohan Adtani said, "The committee was formed last week to ensure that essential services such as waste collection and segregation are implemented properly. A stringent policy will be prepared after consulting experts."

The policy also suggests clauses such as imposing tax for waste collection by BMC. "We will be stringent about not collecting garbage from societies that do not segregate waste. Doubling the fine amount is also among the suggestions," said Seema Redkar, officer on special duty at the department.

According to the environment status report of 2011-12, only 2-4 per cent of the total waste generated in the city is separated as dry or wet garbage. The city generates around 9,200 metric tonnes of waste per day, with 54 per cent being wet organic matter, 15 per cent dry organic matter, 12 per cent sand and earth and 10 per cent paper and recyclables. Plastic forms 9 per cent of the total waste generated in the city, says the environment status report.

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