KARACHI, March 16: As a five-member committee of the city government meets on Monday to finalize the ratio of the proposed tax on garbage collection, Karachiites are likely to be taxed ignorant of the fact that they are already paying for the service.Senior council members and official sources privy to the proposal said the local administration has decided to impose a new tax under ‘public utility charges,’ which mainly addresses garbage collection from residential and industrial areas falling under the city government’s jurisdiction.

However, critics argue that the proposed tax is not justified, as the people have already been paying that as part of their water and sewerage bills, charged by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.

“The KWSB bill includes conservancy tax, which is meant for the service of fire protection, civil defence and garbage collection,” said a source citing the break-up of the KWSB’s billing method.

“Garbage collection is part of the service being provided by the KWSB. Though, unfortunately, such service from the board is not offered due to an almost non-existent check-and-balance system. Still, there is no justification in levying such charges. It should be considered double taxation,” added the source.

The CDGK, through a public notice in January 2008, proposed Rs100 to Rs1,000 as monthly charges from residential areas under ‘public utility charges,’ depending on the size of the plot.

“This tax is proposed to earn additional funds that shall be spent in providing municipal services in (a) more effective and efficient manner,” said the notice.

Similarly, the local government has also suggested one rupee per square foot charges from commercial units while Rs500 to Rs5,000 per month tax has been put under consideration for the industrial plots as per their size.

The move made progress earlier this month when the City Council approved new ‘public utility charges’ amid protest from the opposition benches. The authorities appear firm to levy the new tax and term it different from the already imposed conservancy tax.

“The imposition of the tax is almost final but not the ratio,” said Asif Siddiqi, leader of the house and one of the five members of the committee assigned to come up with suggestions, reservations or any feedback from people on the proposed tax.

‘Comparison not justified’

“Comparison between the proposed tax and conservancy tax is not justified. Actually, garbage collection is a job that involves immense effort and cost, as the government collects the waste of even hospitals and industrial units,” he said.

However, he added, the government had assigned the committee to gather the public’s opinions over the proposed tax and it would consider such feedback while finalizing its ratio, mainly on the residential plots.

The opposition in the City Council, however, has expressed serious reservations over the proposed tax and questioned the whole process of the solid waste management programme from the beginning.

“The imposition of the tax is a latter stage, which we also believe is not justified,” said the opposition leader in the council, Saeed Ghani. “The city government didn’t even consult the council when it was signing the deal with the Chinese firm for the job. It’s not justified to initiate a project without discussing it in the council and then set up a committee to make it final.”

The CDGK is in a deal with a Chinese firm to take care of the city’s solid waste management after the town administrations failed to execute the job satisfactorily. The foreign firm is due to begin operations on April 1 with garbage collection from the residential and industrial areas, for which it would be paid $20 per ton by the city government.

Though the government has also included a member from the opposition benches in the committee, Mr Ghani did not seem willing to let his member attend Monday’s meeting. He said the contract without the council’s approval with the Chinese firm had left no option open to discuss the issue.