Increase in sanitation fee proposed

LAHORE

Lahore Waste Management Company has proposed the government to increase sanitation fee or garbage collection fee from domestic, commercial and industrial users according to the value of the property and the area. 

Company sources said the move aimed to overcome the ongoing financial crunch being faced by the company as its total government loans have increased from Rs 15 billion. Sources said the proposed  fees will be Rs 100 to Rs 600/household, Rs 525 to Rs 2000/commercial user and Rs 700 to Rs 5000/industrial user. Sources said the proposed method of tariff setting for households, commercial and industrial users will be area based on the DCO designated values of different localities.

Sources said the company management had already submitted a detailed summary to the chief minister for approval

According to the summary, the proposed method of tariff setting for household users will be 0.10 per cent (Rs 100/household) on the properties valuing Rs 30,000 to Rs 150,000/marla, 0.08 per cent (Rs 180) on the properties valuing Rs 150,001 to Rs 300,000/marla, 0.06 per cent (Rs 270) on the properties valuing Rs 300,001 to Rs 6,000,000/marla, 0.05 per cent (Rs 375) on the properties valuing Rs 600,001 to Rs 1,000,000/marla, 0.04 per cent (Rs 480) on the properties valuing Rs 1,000,001 to Rs 1,500,000/marla and 0.03 per cent (Rs 600) on the properties valuing Rs 15,000,001 to Rs 2,600,000 and above.

Similarly, the proposed method of tariff setting for commercial units will be 0.30 per cent (Rs 525/unit) on the properties valuing Rs 60,000 to Rs 250,000/marla, 0.25 per cent (Rs 1,125) on the properties valuing Rs 250,001 to Rs 600,000/marla, 0.20 per cent (Rs 1,600) on the properties valuing Rs 600,001 to Rs 1,000,000/marla, 0.15 per cent (Rs 1,800) on the properties valuing Rs 1,000,001 to Rs 1,500,000/marla, 0.10 per cent (Rs 2,000) on the properties valuing Rs 1,500,001 to Rs 2,600,000/marla and above.

Sources said the proposed method of tariff setting for industrial units will be 0.40 per cent (Rs 700/unit) on the properties valuing Rs 60,000 to Rs 250,000/marla, 0.33 per cent (Rs 1,500) on the properties valuing Rs 250,001 to Rs 600,000/marla, 0.30 per cent (Rs 2,400) on the properties valuing Rs 600,001 to Rs 1,000,000/marla, 0.25 per cent (Rs 3,000) on the properties valuing Rs 1,000,001 to Rs 1,500,000/marla, 0.20 per cent (Rs 4,000) on the properties valuing Rs 1,500,001 to Rs 2,600,000/marla and 0.17 per cent (Rs 5,000) on the properties valuing Rs 2,600,001 to Rs 4,000,000/marla and above.

A senior company official seeking anonymity said as per company’s estimates the total household units in the provincial capital are 750,064 and projected revenue generation from them as per the above mentioned formula will be Rs 2,265,992,550 per annum. Likewise the total revenue generation from 146,400 commercial units will be Rs 2,037,060,000 per anum and annual recovery from 36,000 industrial units will be Rs 7,22,126,160. 

Sources said the company proposed to outsource collection system to a third party and later on the collection system may be switched over to smart cards. Acting Managing Director, LWMC, Nusrat Gill while talking to The News said the proposal is under consideration like several other proposals for increasing the company’s revenue generation. Answering a question about the company’s financial status, he said the company is under a debt to Rs 15 billion due to which it is desperately looking for measures to increase its revenue.

He said earlier the company proposed the government to include sanitation charges in electricity bills but Lesco objected to the move on the pretext that electricity cost is already high and the company can’t afford to add a new tax in its billing system.

He said presently subsidised solid waste management services are being provided to all areas and in a recent study Lahore is declared the cleanest city in Saarc countries.

He said full cost recovery is essential to maintain desired level of services. Besides, the company is also making other plans through which it can increase its revenue and waste to energy project is one of them. Answering another question, he said the company is selling 1,000-ton waste per day to a waste to energy plant established by a cement company on Rs 50/ton. He said this revenue is not enough to meet the daily expenses, he maintained.