Corp will levy fees for door to door collection
The Coimbatore Corporation is running into a fresh wave of resistance to proposals for privatising some components of its Rs. 96-crore solid waste management scheme. The scheme is to be implemented under the Union Government's Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.The Corporation has made it clear that it will have to levy a fee for door-to-door collection of garbage. This money will be necessary for the maintenance of materials used in the collection. The fee will also help prove that the Corporation can raise revenue from the public for this service and use it to sustain the scheme. The Corporation has also said during presentations on the scheme that the mission insists on revenue mobilisation to also prove that the civic body has the capacity to repay loans got for various projects.Opposition parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (CPI), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) have questioned the Corporation's approach to privatisation.While the Communist parties are totally opposed to privatisation, the others only caution the Corporation against overburdening the people. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Congress say that the fee will be reasonable and the entire scheme cannot be blocked on this issue.
Reacting to charges that the people's approval for a fee has not been obtained, Mayor R. Venkatachalam, a Congress member, says that people are willing to pay so that garbage will be removed every day from their houses."They want the city to be clean and are willing to pay a fee. Then, why should the scheme be blocked on this issue," he asks.The Communist parties are worried that the Corporation may privatise large portions of the scheme in order to minimise its financial commitment. The 30 per cent contribution of the Corporation (out of the total project cost) can be opened up to private parties. This is an area of concern, the parties say.The CPI points out at the periodical increase of toll for vehicles at a bridge built by a private company and says this can happen in garbage collection also.Even though the Corporation says that door-to-door collection will be done by its workers, the Opposition parties are not convinced.
