Islamabad: The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has decided to charge a fee for its garbage-collection efforts from the owners of residential and commercial properties situated in urban areas of the capital city, a news source reported. MCI Director Sanitation Sardar Khan Zimri told the media that the revenue generated would be utilised for the development of sanitation and sewerage facilities in the city.
Currently, the MCI does not charge any fee for its street-cleaning services or garbage-collection endeavors. The authority only collects about PKR 100 from each house; which is used for maintenance and conservation of streetlights and parks, among other things. Zimri said that the authority lacked the availability of additional funds for commencing with sanitation services improvement.
The implementation of these charges will come into effect following the MCI’s meeting – scheduled to take place today (Monday) – during which approval from the house will be sought.
Once approval is given, the MCI will start to outsource garbage collection in the city. The rates will vary from sector to sector, and are expected to bring in a total (annual) revenue of PKR 1 billion. The authority recently announced its intention to charge:
PKR 4 per square foot from private housing in Sector E
PKR 3 per square foot from private housing in Sector F
PKR 2 per square foot from private housing in Sectors G & I
PKR 3 per square foot from private housing in Sector I-8
PKR 1.5 per square foot from government housing in all sectors
At present, the MCI’s jurisdiction is limited to urban areas of the city. The authority is trying to create a system with the help of union council chairmen to collect and dispose of garbage in the rural areas as well. Zimri said that residents could make use of the bins the authorities had placed in some union councils for waste disposal – in order for the MCI to collect the garbage from these bins.
