KOCHI: After the Supreme Court pulled up the Kochi corporation for having charged an additional fee, besides the regular cost, from the residents for the collection of sanitary waste including adult diapers and sanitary napkins, Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar said there is no provision to collect and treat sanitary waste for free.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Indu Varma on Monday, the apex court observed that the additional fees charged by the local body was ‘shocking’ and amounted to ‘gender discrimination’.
Responding to the Supreme Court observation, the Kochi mayor told TNIE that after the Brahmapuram fire, a private agency has been entrusted with collecting sanitary napkins from houses. The agency takes them to the facility run by the Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Ltd (KEIL) at Ambalamedu.
“There is no provision to treat the waste for free. Moreover, compared to other local bodies in the state, Kochi corporation is doing it at a minimal cost,” Anilkumar said.
Citing a report published by the legal news portal Verdictum, Indu Varma pointed out that the separate charge for the disposal of sanitary waste is prevalent only in Kerala. The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the case. Sanitary waste needs scientific treatment, hence the high cost, the mayor said.
“KEIL doesn’t provide any subsidy to treat biomedical waste. Yet we are bearing a major part of the cost, including the GST, and collecting only transportation fees from the residents,” Anilkumar said, adding that no local body in the state is treating the sanitary waste for free.
Other local bodies in Ernakulam district — including Maradu, Tripunithura and Thrikkakara municipalities — charge Rs 45, Rs 52 and Rs 56 per kg, respectively, as user fees for collecting sanitary napkin waste from residents.
Last June, the Kochi corporation chalked out a plan for segregated waste collection from households. The agency fixed the rate at Rs 54 per kg, which was later brought down to Rs 12 per kg after public protest. “The residents were asked to pay an additional Rs 12 per kg, and the remaining amount, including the GST, is paid by the corporation,” said T K Ashraf, chairman of the health standing committee.
The mayor pointed out that the corporation is making a loss while dealing with the sanitary napkin waste. “We can treat sanitary waste for free if the government forms an agency. KEIL is not giving any subsidy, nor is it doing it for free,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ashraf said the corporation’s biomedical waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram is expected to be completed within two months. But the mayor said that additional fees will be collected even if the incinerators come up. “This waste will not be collected by the Haritha Karma Sena (HKS). Instead, a private agency will be entrusted, and hence, a user fee will be collected,” Anilkumar said.
Opposition party leader Antony Kureethara said, according to the Kerala Municipality Act, such additional fees should not be levied on the public.
The PIL in the Supreme Court contends that Kerala has imposed a disposal fee for sanitary waste in addition to a user fee for household waste collection as mandated by the Solid Waste Management Rule of 2016. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan has given the Union of India six weeks to submit a status report on the matter.
Corporation’s stand
Compared to other local bodies in the state, Kochi corporation is doing it at a minimal cost
Sanitary waste needs scientific treatment, hence the high cost
Corporation is making a loss while dealing with the sanitary napkin waste
Can treat sanitary waste for free if the government forms an agency