New Delhi [India], May 5 : AAP leader Ankush Narang, who is Leader of Opposition in the MCD House, has demanded the immediate withdrawal of user charges saying that MCD had no justification for the move.
"When garbage isn't even being collected from every home, how can the MCD justify burdening people with additional charges?" he asked, slamming the civic body for forcing residents to hire private staff for basic sanitation.
In a letter to MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar on Monday, he also flagged the severe public inconvenience caused by overflowing dumping points and demanded their closure and beautification.
"For the past several days, representatives from various RWAs in Delhi have been meeting me and demanding that the user charges levied by the MCD along with house tax be withdrawn. Acting on the RWAs' demand, I have written a letter to MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar in my capacity as Leader of Opposition. Through the letter, I have informed him that representatives from RWAs and market associations have been approaching me, and all of them want the user charges imposed by MCD to be rolled back," Narang said.
He said there are concessionaires in all 12 zones of Delhi, but these concessionaires do not go door-to-door collecting waste from every household. Every household has hired private staff for garbage collection.
"These concessionaires have no coordination with the homeowners. Until the MCD is capable of collecting garbage from every household and commercial establishment, user charges should not be imposed," he said.
"There are dumping points in various parts of Delhi, and these dumping spots are filled with garbage that often spills onto the roads. Due to this, residents face difficulties while passing through those areas. People living nearby also suffer, and the environment becomes heavily polluted, making life unbearable for the locals. We have also demanded that the commissioner shut down all these dumping sites. Even at the FCTS (Fixed Compactor Transfer Stations) that have been built, garbage is scattered all around, degrading the environment," Narang added.
The AAP leader said that until the MCD becomes capable of collecting waste from every household and all dumping sites are closed, beautified, and repurposed for other activities, user charges must not be imposed.
"The Aam Aadmi Party strongly demands that the MCD Commissioner issue immediate directions to withdraw user charges."