MYSORE: The proposed move by the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) to collect a cess to handle garbage has evoked criticism from citizens' forum.

The Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP), which has worked on various civic affairs and has expertise on garbage and property tax issues, has criticised the proposal and said the new cess would not yield more than Rs. 1.5 crore.

Bhamy V. Shenoy of the parishat suggested that the corporation computerise and streamline its property tax collection process and implement modern management techniques which would yield an additional Rs. 15 crore to Rs. 20 crore over and above the Rs.15 crore that was being collected at present as property tax.

Explaining the rationale for the scepticism about the new proposal, the parishat said garbage handling was not a simple process as the amount of garbage being generated was increasing.

It emphasised that scientific garbage handling was not only expensive but also required technical expertise. The parishat has suggested developing a proper strategy to handle the city's garbage instead of levying a cess which would burden the tax payers. Mr. Shenoy said: "Instead of developing a sound strategy to handle city's garbage, using experts, it is unfortunate that the corporation is wasting precious time floating ideas such as imposing a health cess. They should develop a sound management plan to improve the existing garbage handling system consisting of more than 800 pourakarmikas."

The parishat raised a few pertinent questions pertaining to the training of pourakarmikas and said the latter functioned under primitive conditions and were exposed to the dangers of contamination.

Neither did the corporation provide them with safety accessories such as gloves and boots nor proper equipment to clear garbage, Dr. Shenoy said.

A suggestion was made by a body of urban experts from the Union Government who called for "capacity building" of the corporation by infusing new talent and providing external expertise .

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