From January 1, Chennai residents will have to pay a fee with their property taxes towards clearance of solid waste from their household. The fee will be collected based on the type of establishment and the output of garbage for a designated period. The announcement made on Tuesday by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) said that the local authority will be collecting user charges for solid waste management based on the details provided in the Solid Waste Management bye-laws of 2019. The GCC also said that the list of charges based on the type of establishment is also provided in the annexure to the bye-laws.
For residential buildings, the charges are monthly and range from Rs 10 to Rs 100 based on the built up area of the construction. For commercial establishments, like wedding halls, restaurants and hotels, the charges are monthly, based on the quantity of garbage generated in their premises. For wedding halls and community centres, the charges range from Rs 1000 to Rs 15000 a month, while for restaurants and hotels, the user charges range from Rs 300 to Rs 5000 per month, based on the average garbage generated per day.
For cinema theatres, the user charges have been determined based on the number of screens in the theatre complex and the charges start from Rs 2000. For office spaces, the charges are based on the square feet area of the premises and ranges between Rs 300 and Rs 3000.
For establishments that operate under trade licenses of GCC, the user charges range from Rs 200 to Rs 1000 per month. GCC will also charge a user fee from the organisers of events in public places based on the number of guests. For nursing homes and hospitals, the GCC’s user charges range from Rs 500 per month to Rs 4000 per month. For educational institutions, the user charges per month range from Rs 500 to Rs 3000.
For places of religious worship and other places not covered in the above categories, the user charges to dispose of solid waste ranges from Rs 200 per month to Rs 500 per month.