Delhi Mayor, House leader oppose linking waste management charges with property tax bills

A major political row erupted in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over sudden imposition of user charges for solid waste management by linking them with property tax bills.

Delhi Mayor Mahesh Kumar Khichi and Leader of the House Mukesh Goel held a joint press conference on Monday. They termed the MCD Commissioner’s decision as unilateral, anti-people and procedurally flawed.

Calling the move unjustified, Mayor Khichi demanded immediate rollback of the decision.

“The MCD Commissioner has arbitrarily linked user charges with property tax. This is unacceptable and will increase the financial burden on Delhiites. Any proposal of this nature should have first been placed before the elected House for discussion and approval,” he said.

Mayor Khichi further pointed out that the MCD’s current waste management services are inadequate. “Eighty per cent of households in Delhi do not even receive regular garbage collection. Before imposing user charges, the MCD should first ensure proper door-to-door waste collection,” he added.

Leader of the House Mukesh Goel said: “This move appears to be a calculated attempt to pressure the AAP government and the Mayor by misusing administrative powers. Residents are already paying private garbage collectors out of pocket, and now they are being taxed again. This is nothing short of dual taxation.”

He alleged that the user charge provision, though part of the 2017 Solid Waste Management Bylaws, had never been implemented for residential properties due to public opposition.

“Between 2016 and 2022, when the BJP controlled the MCD, they deliberately did not enforce this. Why the sudden urgency now, with only a short tenure left in office? This is pure politics at the cost of public welfare,” Goel charged.

Both leaders questioned why the proposal was pushed through without consulting the House or councillors. “This decision was taken without transparency. There has been no meeting between private waste collectors and MCD concessionaires. The MCD must clean up its act before it seeks to collect any new charges,” Goel said.

He also noted that in earlier deliberations, user charges were proposed only for commercial properties, not residential ones. “Even that was never fully implemented. Now, the MCD is trying to shift the burden onto common man already reeling under rising inflation and fee hike in schools,” he said.

In response to the criticism, the MCD later issued a clarification stating that the user charges are being levied in compliance with the Solid Waste Management Bylaws, 2017, which were notified by the Delhi Government in 2018. The civic body maintained that the fee is legally mandated and is being enforced accordingly. It added that the implementation of the SWM Rules, 2016, is also under the ongoing monitoring of the Supreme Court in the matter of MC Mehta v/s Union of India.