Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will collect segregated waste from apartment complexes in the city. However, residents will have to pay for it. The fee has not been fixed yet but BBMP commissioner Rajneesh Goel said it could be around Re 1 a kilo.
Originally, apartments and other bulk waste generators were required to manage their garbage from Monday. Now, Goel says the deadline will be extended by two months for apartments. Till then, pourakarmikas will collect wet waste daily and dry waste once a week from apartments.
Bangalore has more than 22,000 apartment complexes with 7.5 lakh flats.
According to Goel, Palike has convened a meeting of members of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) on Friday. “We have also invited Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board members who convert waste to biogas. We will tell CREDAI to adopt this technology and give them time if required. Ultimately, it is a win-win situation,” he said.
Goel said their objective was to ensure that no waste comes out of apartment complexes that have adequate space for processing units. Asked about smaller apartments where there is little space, Goel said BBMP is aware of the problems. He said there are examples of composting units that take up less space and can be set up on the terrace. “We are ready to sort out problems and will collect their garbage on payment,” he said.
However, opposing the move, Standing Committee Chairman for Health Venkatesh Babu said, “The commissioner has no right to fix or decide a fee on his own. According to the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, it should come up before the committee and then placed before the Council for approval. But when apartment owners are paying a garbage cess, it is not right on BBMP’s part to collect an additional fee from them.”