The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has proposed a Rs 235 monthly charge per household for residents of buildings classified as bulk waste generators (BWGs) if they fail to process solid waste on their premises. The proposed fee is intended to enforce the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026, and will not be levied immediately.
The BMC’s solid waste management department plans to give BWGs a three-month period to establish scientific waste-processing facilities. Residential buildings that process their waste on site may also qualify for a property tax rebate of up to 15%, according to civic officials quoted by the Times of India.
A building can be classified as a bulk waste generator if it meets any one of three thresholds: a floor area of at least 20,000 square metres, daily water consumption of at least 40,000 litres, or daily waste generation of at least 100 kg. Meeting one threshold is sufficient for the classification.
The proposed Rs 235 charge per household has been calculated using the BMC’s current solid waste management expenditure of about Rs 3,500 per tonne. Mumbai generates around 7,000 metric tonnes of solid waste every day, apart from a similar quantity of construction and demolition waste, according to the report.
BMC officials said the framework is aimed at facilitating compliance rather than merely imposing a charge. “These requirements are part of a nationwide regulatory framework and are being implemented under the Supreme Court’s continuing directions and monitoring,” a civic official said.
The proposal also allows societies with inadequate space or infrastructure to collaborate with neighbouring societies. Such groups may form a special purpose vehicle and establish a common processing facility approved by the BMC.
Only qualifying residential BWGs that are unable to process wet waste, obtain an exemption and hand over the waste to the BMC for collection, transportation and scientific processing will fall under the proposed Extended Bulk Waste Generator Responsibility certificate mechanism. The report did not state when the final framework would be notified or how the exemption process would be administered.
The proposal has already drawn political criticism. UBT Shiv Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray said the BJP was “only trying to squeeze the citizens at all levels”. The BMC is expected to use the three-month compliance period to encourage affected buildings to create or join approved waste-processing arrangements before any charge is imposed.
