Relief for Pimpri-Chinchwad Residents As User Fee Collection Suspended

Pimpri-Chinchwad : The ongoing collection of user fee penalties by the municipal administration has been temporarily suspended, providing relief to the citizens.

The decision comes following the demand of MLA Mahesh Landge, who strongly advocated for the cancellation of user fees and penalties during the Monsoon Session. As a result, a detailed meeting will be held in the presence of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, where the final decision regarding user fee collection will be taken.

In 2019, the urban development department of the state government issued a notification, instructing local bodies to charge user fees for solid waste management. However, Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal administration had not implemented this for the last four years. Recently, the administration started collecting user fees along with penalties, leading to conflicts with the people’s representatives.

The user fee was set at Rs. 60 per month per property and Rs. 720 per year in the city. The penalty collection began in July 2019, and around Rs. 35 crore has been recovered so far, with arrears amounting to approximately Rs. 153 crores for the past four years. However, following the MLA Landge’s demand and public outcry, the state government decided to suspend the recovery process.

MLA Landge argued that the user fee imposition had caused inconvenience to the honest taxpayers of Pimpri-Chinchwad. He questioned why this fee was not levied in other cities like Navi Mumbai and Thane Municipal Corporation and demanded the cancellation of the additional charges on eco-friendly societies’.

During the session, MLA Landge expressed his firm stance, emphasizing that the House must prioritize issues concerning Pimpri-Chinchwad. Cabinet Minister Dr. Uday Samant took a positive initiative to address the matter. Dr. Samant acknowledged the importance of MLA Landge’s concerns and suspended the user fee collection until a conclusive decision is made during the meeting with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister.

Both MLA Landge and Dr. Samant highlighted the need to consider the citizens’ welfare and emphasized that a permanent solution should be reached after thorough deliberation. The focus now lies on the upcoming meeting, where the fate of user fee collection in Pimpri-Chinchwad will be determined, bringing hope for relief to the city’s residents.