35,000 property owners in Bengaluru are ready to manage solid waste on their premises: DKS

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday said that owners of about 35,000 property owners in Bengaluru have come forward to manage the solid wastes generated on their premises.

“The government has allowed their request to handle the solid wastes generated on their premises,” he told the Legislative Council, responding to BJP member S. Keshav Prasad, who raised the issue of a high percentage of cess on properties in Bengaluru and the user fee being imposed.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that the garbage management in the city was “controlled by mafia”, which did not allow floating of tenders.

On the issue of the user fee, which the BJP member termed as too high, Mr. Shivakumar said that the proposal to increase the user fee came first from the Centre in 2016 and was accepted by the BBMP in 2020. “Considering it to be too high, I instructed officials to reduce the fee. What is now being proposed is just 25% of what the Centre had directed us to implement,” he said.

Regarding the fee on vacant sites, he said that the government is proposing to bring legislation to ensure that the vacant site is not used as a dumping ground. “The owner has to have a compound and keep the premises clean. We will crack down on lorries dumping debris indiscriminately near lakes and open areas. We will install CCTV cameras to monitor the trucks. Tenders will also be floated to utilise the debris,” Mr. Shivakumar said.