FOSWAC opposes waste collection charges proposed by civic body

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 21

The Federation of Sector Welfare Associations Chandigarh (FOSWAC) has decided to support the decision of the Municipal Corporation for segregation of waste. The resident welfare associations (RWAs) would also educate people on the matter.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the FOSWAC executive committee held under the chairmanship of Baljinder Singh Bittu.

Bittu said FOSWAC was ready to work and cooperate with the MC authorities in implementing the garbage segregation project. However, he pointed out that the rates proposed by the civic body were much higher than the prevailing garbage collection rates. Moreover, garbage collectors were happy with the existing rates approved by the RWAs, he added.

“It has been observed that the MC was more inclined to transfer garbage collection from existing collectors to some cartel, which is not acceptable to most RWAs,” he said, adding that the MC should come up with a blueprint of its garbage collection policy giving all details regarding its collection and expenditure proposals.

JS Gogia, general secretary of the residents’ body, said residents had an apprehension that the MC would just bill them Rs 250-Rs 500 in the water bills but deliver a poor service.

“While deciding the rates of garbage collection, commercial and professional aspects must be taken into consideration to reach a logical decision,” he said.

Pankaj Gupta, chief spokesperson of the RWA, Sector 38 (West), said the MC should process the garbage collected from the city more effectively rather than making mounds of it near Dadu Majra Colony.