The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is preparing fresh trade licence renewal fee bills for shops measuring 500sq ft or less without including the fee for collecting solid waste, withdrawing the old bills that triggered protests by small traders for including the conservancy charge.
Since April 1, the KMC has made it mandatory for traders to pay the civic body for collecting the solid waste generated by their businesses.
Later, the mayoral council passed a resolution exempting commercial establishments spread across 500sq ft or less from paying the waste collection fee. Restaurants are not entitled to the relief even if they measure 500sq ft or less.
“We are generating new bills. Traders running their businesses from spaces less than 500sq ft need not pay any solid waste collection fee. New bills are being prepared without the fee. The amount they have to pay is the same as what they paid in the financial year 2022-23,” said another KMC official.
The civic body has been preparing trade licence renewal fee bills for the fiscal 2023-24 since April 1, which include a separate charge for collecting solid waste from commercial establishments.
This led to protests from traders, after which the KMC decided to partially roll back the fees.
The Telegraph reported on April 25 that the KMC’s mayoral council had decided to not collect any solid waste collection fee from commercial establishments measuring 500sq ft or less.
The civic body has also made the renewal of trade licences conditional for establishments that are larger than 500sq ft. The owners of such establishments can pay the trade licence renewal fee only after they have paid the fee for collecting solid waste from their premises.
“If establishments that are larger than 500sq ft do not pay solid waste collection fee, they will not be able to renew their trade licences. Without renewing the trade licence they cannot run their establishments,” said an official of the KMC.
Sources in the civic body said fresh bills, after removing the solid waste collection fee, have been printed since the last seven days. The fresh bills can be obtained from treasury offices of the civic body or downloaded from the KMC’s website.
There are 10 lakh traders in Kolkata who pay a trade licence fee to the civic body. “According to a rough estimate, only about 35,000 of them need to pay the solid waste collection fee,” said a KMC official.
“The new bills for the owners of small commercial establishments only has the trade licence renewal fee, which cannot exceed Rs 2,500, according to the rules of the civic body,” the official said.
Fresh bills are also being generated for establishments measuring more than 500sq ft. While the earlier bills had both the trade licence renewal fee and the solid waste collection fee, two separate bills are being prepared now for each establishment.
“Now that separate bills are being issued, it will be easier for traders to know how much they are being charged for solid waste collection,” a KMC official said.