BHUBANESWAR: Planning to build a house? Better don't delay. Or else you may end up paying certain cost for dumping building material and debris on roads and public places.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to impose `user fee' on those who will be using public places for more than 24 hours. A decision to this effect was taken at a high- level meeting attended by BMC Commissioner Aparajta Sarangi here on Thursday.

"The government land is not free for all. It has certain value. The corporation will collect user fee for use of the government land," Ms. Sarangi said. She said the BMC targeted to round up 100 people per month initially.

Tax collectors

"Sanitary Inspectors and the enforcement squad will detect different pockets of the city and as many as 77 BMC tax collectors will be engaged to collect user fee." As per a BMC guideline, no person shall be allowed to stack any building material or debris on public streets for construction, alteration, repair or demolition work of any type for more than 24 hours.

"User fee shall be charged for stacking of such material on street beyond the stipulated period up to seven days. For further period, if the occupier does not remove the material, a surcharge on such fee at the rate of 50 per cent shall be charged on the premises used for commercial purpose."

Fee chart

The BMC is expected to charge user fee of Rs. 30 per for stacking a truckload of material on street and Rs. 15 per tractor and mini truck per day.

"It is noticed that people are in habit of stacking building material or rubbles on roads for indefinite period. It causes a lot of inconvenience to road users. BMC will try to keep streets clean as well as take violators to task," she said.

The BMC is also coming out with a chart fixing user fee of Rs. 20 for four wheeler (heavy), Rs. 10 for four wheeler (light), Rs. 3 for three wheeler, Rs. 2 for two wheeler and Re 1 for bi-cycle.

A person intending to construct or alter drain will now have to inform commissioner in writing specifying the date and time for completion of such drains for final inspection by officers of the corporation.

"Our priority would be to enforce user fee concept in connecting drains, parking vehicles and stacking of material on public streets," she said.

On later stage, levying user charges in lieu of service rendered by BMC in slum areas and for special cleaning of hotels, restaurants, nursing homes and apartment would be taken up, Ms. Sarangi said.

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