India, April 30 -- Almost a month after the BMC opened the gates to suggestions and objections regarding the draft Solid Waste Management (SWM) byelaws, it received 555 responses till Tuesday. Most of the responses object to the introduction of an SWM user fee, starting from Rs.100 for homes with a built-up area (BUA) of up to 50 square metres. Those with a BUA of between 50 sq m and 300 sq m will incur a charge of Rs.500, and for houses exceeding 300 sq m, the fee will be Rs.1,000 for waste collection.

"We have received 505 responses on WhatsApp and around 50 on email," said an official from the SWM department. "Most of them are against the user fee. There are some, however, asking for fines for various civic offences to be increased to...