Dumping debris to cost you dear in Chandigarh

Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 5

Throwing construction and demolition waste at public places will invite a heavy penalty as the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is all set to frame a new policy for the proper management and processing of construction and demolition waste in the city.

Sources said the draft of the policy had been prepared, which would be implemented after the approval of the General House of the MC and issuance of a notification by the UT Administration.

Under the draft policy, it will be made mandatory for all those reconstructing their houses/buildings to send the debris to the plant at the Industrial Area, Phase 1. The Municipal Corporation will charge fee for processing the waste material. The MC is establishing a plant for processing construction and demolition waste at the Industrial Area to make “PCC products”, to be used for pavements, road work and fencing work. The plant is coming up at a cost of Rs 3 crore.

The sources said as per the draft rules, those reconstructing their houses would be levied construction and demolition waste processing charges at the rate of Rs 160 per square metre per storey at the time of the approval of the revised building plan from the Estate Office or the Municipal Corporation.

They will also be allowed to take the processed material worth the fee paid to the plant at their own transportation cost within one year of the approval of the revised building plan to use it as construction material and “save environment instead of mining products”. The fee will be increased 10 per cent annually from April 1 every year. As per the draft, a nominal charge may also be levied for new construction at the time of approval of the building plan from the Estate Office at the rate of Rs 40 per square metre per storey.

In case of a violation, they will be challaned at the rate of Rs 5,000 per vehicle for dumping unprocessed waste in low-lying areas and public places. The charges for the challan will be increased by 10 per cent every year. The sources said the main aim of the policy was to reuse recycled processed waste to save environment.

Chandigarh generates 90 tonnes of construction and demolition waste a day, but it is not used properly. An MC official said discussions with stakeholders had been started regarding the draft policy and final charges would be fixed after due consideration.

Municipal corp ready with draft policy

Sources said the draft of the policy had been prepared, which would be implemented after the approval of the General House of the MC and issuance of a notification by the UT Administration.

To charge fee for processing material

Under the draft policy, it will be made mandatory for all those reconstructing their houses/buildings to send the debris to the plant at the Industrial Area, Phase 1. The MC will charge fee for processing the waste material. The MC is establishing a plant for processing construction and demolition waste at the Industrial Area to make “PCC products”, to be used for pavements, road work and fencing work. The plant will be set up at a cost of Rs 3 crore.