With just two days left for the Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC) ghanta gadis to stop collecting waste, the Thane housing societies are in a catch-22 situation. The residents have been asked to manage their own wet and dry waste. While some of the big housing complexes have their own bio-compost to manage wet garbage, they complain that the agency appointed by the TMC will charge them for transporting their dry waste.
"While our builder has built a plant to manage wet waste, we are trying find out a way to handle our dry waste," says Sushant Kumar from Flora co-operative housing society, Hiranandani estate, Thane west.
On Saturday, the residents of Hiranandani estate had a meeting with Samarth Bharat Vyaspeeth (SBV) which will collect dry waste and send to recycling plants. "They said they will charge Rs 2 per day from every flat as transportation charge. There are 223 flats in our society which makes it to Rs 13000 per month," says Sushant.
Another resident Atul Joshi (name changed) says he does not understand why the residents have to pay money to a third party when they are already paying taxes to the civic body.
Moreover, the TMC will also offer the societies five per cent rebate in property tax if they manage their own waste. "This year they have raised the tax by 10 percent from which they will give us the rebate," he says.
SBV, on the other hand, said that nothing has been finalised yet. "We have not decided whether to charge, or how much to charge. The charges are for transportation," says Bhatu Sawant of SBV.
