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| Edited By: Archana Dahiwal |Source: DNA |Updated: Aug 08, 2012, 04:09 PM IST
Owners of various hotels in areas under the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) have failed to pay their waste collection charges in the last three years and the amount has totalled up to Rs14.68 lakh.
Taking a serious cognizance of the pending dues, the PCMC has decided to launch an immediate action against the hoteliers to recover the money.
Besides, action will also be taken against the civic body staffers who failed to collect the money.
The issue came to the fore when the vice-president of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) environment cell for Pimpri-Chinchwad, Raju Savale, sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act about the dues of hotel owners.
After being informed that the pending dues totalled to Rs14.68 lakh, he demanded immediate action to recover the dues as early as possible. PCMC’s joint municipal commissioner Amrut Sawant told DNA, “We will start the drive to collect the pending dues from the hotel owners immediately. Necessary instructions have been given to the department concerned. The civic staffers who failed to collect the pending dues will also face inquiry.”
The RTI query revealed that the civic body had deployed separate staff and eight vehicles to pick the hotel waste in the twin town. The civic body charged Rs1,000 to Rs3,000 for the services depending on the grade of hotels. The PCMC spent Rs47 lakh every year merely for disposing of hotel waste. However, the hotel owners did not pay the waste collection charges regularly.
According to civic body’s records, there are 338 defaulting hotels in ward A. The PCMC had spent Rs13.84 lakh on collecting hotel waste, while the hotels paid only Rs5.43 lakh towards the services. The pending dues from hoteliers in ward A amounted to Rs4.89 lakh.
In ward B, there are a total 599 defaulting hotels. While the PCMC spent Rs16.73 lakh on waste collection, it collected only Rs4.40 lakh from the hotel owners and the pending dues totalled to Rs5.94 lakh.
In ward C, there are 369 hotels and the civic body spent Rs25.53 lakh on hotel waste collection. It collected Rs2.64 lakh from hotel owners, while Rs2.11 lakh is pending. In ward D, there are 192 defaulting hotels. While the civic body spent Rs17.21 lakh on waste collection, it collected Rs1.47 lakh and the dues amount to Rs1.72 lakh.
