KATHMANDU, JUN 15 - Kathmandu Metropolitan City is planning to launch its own waste management service in the capital, a job carried out by private firms until now. By operating its own waste management service, KMC expects to control haphazard fees levied by private firms for garbage collection, and provide better service.

Rabin Man Shrestha, chief of Environment Department at KMC, said a standard service tariff will be set based on the quantity of the waste generated from households and business establishments every month. Customers will have to pay extra money, if they have more than the set quantity of waste to dispose. The tariff rate will vary in case of business establishments depending on their scale.    

Private firms providing garbage collection service in Kathmandu has been charging an individual household up to Rs 200 per month. KMC plans to offer the same service for Rs 175. The cost of disposing additional waste would entail Rs 125 extra. Similarly, fruit and juice shops would be charged Rs 500 per month, while department stores will have to pay Rs 4,000 a month (Rs 3,500 for surplus waste). For tea shops and restaurants, the fee ranges between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000.  

Service fees for big hotels range between Rs 3,500 and Rs 6,000. Banquet halls and lodges would have to pay from Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000. For schools with 200 students, KMC has proposed a monthly tariff of Rs 100; government schools will be receive 60 percent discout in waste management fee.  

The rates proposed by the KMC would be implemented with necessary changes, if needed. Shrestha said the KMC would collect a revenue of Rs 440 million annually from the waste management .