NEW DELHI: RESIDENT Welfare Associations in the city have raised concerns over the lack of legal clarity regarding the imposition of user fee on households.
In a letter to the MCD Commissioner, RWAs pointed out that the civic body has not specified under which head the collected user fees would be utilised. They also cited the Solid Waste Management Act, which they argue prohibits clubbing user fee with the property tax.
“We have formally notified the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) of significant legal and transparency concerns surrounding its newly implemented user fee for solid waste management. Our letter cites non-compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957,” said United Residents Joint Action (URJA) Force. URJA also argued that the “user fee” lacks clear legal grounding.
In the letter, the association demanded the MCD to specify the exact legal provisions within the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, that authorize this charge.
The letter also pointed out operational shortcomings and questioned the preparedness for fee implementation, the lack of communication with waste generators, and the absence of a proper grievance redressal system.
“About 13 lakh out of 43 lakh households in Delhi pay property tax. Besides, some residents already pay private waste collectors. We question the fairness of charging only property taxpayers for a service used by all,” the letter read.
Meanwhile, the AAP councillors held a sit-in outside Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh’s office on protesting the omission of a proposal to roll back user charges from the House agenda. Following the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls last month, when the BJP came to power and appointed its mayor, the party on April 25 promised to roll back the user charge.
“Since the beginning, the BJP has had no intention of working for the people of Delhi. All they do is make false promises and avoid real work. We had submitted a proposal to remove the user charges but the BJP is deliberately avoiding it,” said Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the MCD Ankush Narang.