Shimla civic body hikes garbage collection charges by 10%

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Shimla, April 1

Residents of Shimla will have to pay more for getting their garbage collected as the Shimla MC has hiked the garbage collection charges by 10 per cent from this month onwards, i.e., the new financial year.

Till now, the residents were paying Rs 118 per month as garbage collection fees. With the implementation of this 10 per cent hike, they would have to pay Rs 130 as garbage collection fees.

Municipal Commissioner Bhupinder Attri said though the corporation had not hiked any charges in the budget for the financial year 2024-25, it was decided that the corporation would hike garbage collection fees by 10 per cent every year, a proposal that was passed in the house several years ago.

He added that the same hike was announced in the salaries of the workers of Shimla Environment, Heritage Conservation and Beautification (SEHB) Society.

He said that SEHB society was self-reliant as it did not receive any specific grant, therefore the additional amount that will be collected as garbage collection charges would be used to pay the salaries of the workers of the society. However, this decision of the corporation has not gone down well with residents who have condemned this decision.

Nagrik Sabha stages protest

The Shimla Nagrik Sabha here today staged a protest outside the premises of Deputy Commissioner’s office against the hike in the rates of water, electricity, garbage collection, property tax and installation of smart meters. The protesters demanded that the Municipal Corporation immediately withdraw its decision.

The Sabha’s convener and former Mayor Sanjay Chauhan said people were being deprived of basic facilities due to neoliberal, privatisation and commercialisation policies. He said instead of providing essential services for free, the general public was being exploited on the pretext of service charges. “The relentless hike in the cost of basic amenities like water, electricity, and property tax, under the guise of meeting World Bank conditions, is exacerbating the financial burden on citizens,” he added. Chauhan said: “According to the Oxfam report, income sources of the people are decreasing. However, every year, the rates of basic amenities in the state’s capital are being hiked by 10 per cent.”