Cess waiver on cards for apartments that process wet waste

BENGALURU: The city civic corporation is mulling the waiver of solid waste management (SWM) cess for bulk generators who process their own wet waste. For those who do not, a hike could be in the offing.

Internally, authorities have discussed giving large apartment complexes and commercial establishments such as malls a 50% waiver on the SWM cess that is levied every month. Such an incentive could reduce the quantum of waste the city generates daily , which is pegged at nearly 4,000 tonne. “This is still under discussion,“ BBMP Joint Commi ssioner (solid waste management) Sarfaraz Khan said.

The civic body is considering the incentive approach after facing a backlash after it announced recently that wet waste will not be collected from bulk generators. Any building that generates over 100 kg a day is a bulk generator, according to the SWM Rules 2016. “We realised that it's not about wet waste alone but also about the levy of cess,“ Khan said.

From 2011, the BBMP has been levying SWM cess on buildings based on their built-up area. The cess has four components: Garbage collection, transportation, street sweeping and gang work (civic workers). “Why do we have to pay the cess when we are not giving our waste to the BBMP ,“ asked Murugaraj Swaminathan, a resident at Vijayasri Elixir, a 175-unit apartment complex in Whitefield.

Khan agreed. “We can waive off gar bage collection and transportation cess because the BBMP does not do it for bulk generators anyway .“ Waste from bulk generators is to be managed by vendors empanelled by the civic body .

While waiving cess for bulk generators who are in a position to handle their own wet waste, authorities may look at a “scientific“ hike for, say, wed ding halls that cannot manage waste due to the sheer quantity they generate. “I have told the standing committee on taxation and finance that I'll come back to them on this. We are figuring out the modalities of this proposal,“ Khan said.

Meanwhile, the Bangalore Apartments' Federation (BAF), which represents nearly 150 apartment complexes in the city , is on the verge of questioning the legality of the SWM cess. “ A system of incentive will always work better than one that imposes something,“ BAF general secretary Srikanth Narasimhan said, who added that the Brigade Paramount apartment where he lives composts its wet waste.