New Delhi: New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has approved draft Solid Waste Management (SWM) Bylaws 2026, with increased monthly user charges and penalties proposed for waste generators across residential, commercial and industrial establishments in Lutyens’ Delhi.Residential properties will pay Rs 100 per month as the user charge for plots up to 50 square metres against Rs 50 as per SWM 2018 Bylaws, Rs 200 for 50-200 sqm plots against Rs 100 earlier, and Rs 300 for plots larger than 200 sqm compared with Rs 200. The charges will also go up for other categories (see graphic).A system for advance payment for five and a half or 10 months has also been proposed with the user fee, scheduled to automatically increase by 5% every year from Jan 1.The draft bylaws, approved at the council meeting Monday, will come into force after notification by Delhi govt’s urban development department. NDMC has been implementing a few provisions of the 2026 Rules since April.For recovering dues and acting against non-compliant waste generators, the draft proposes that unpaid user charges can be recovered as arrears under NDMC Act, while fines and prosecution procedures can be initiated in cases of continued violations.The focus will now shift from collection and disposal to segregation, recovery, recycling and decentralised processing. NDMC generates around 300 tonnes of waste daily and currently processes around 300TPD against an available processing capacity of 509TPD.Unlike many other civic bodies, NDMC claims to have implemented increased rates as soon as the previous bylaws were notified. “The user fee is included in the water bills charged from residential and commercial users. Between Jan and Aug this year, we collected Rs 2.5 crore, including Rs 1.7 crore from commercial users and Rs 83.8 lakh from residential users,” NDMC vice-chairman Kuljeet Chahal said.NDMC claims that it has already arranged for four-way segregation of waste at source — wet, dry, sanitary and special-care waste. “All auto-tippers used for door-to-door collection have four compartments, with a helper deployed with each vehicle to facilitate segregation. Awareness jingles are also played during collection rounds,” Chahal said.To monitor compliance, NDMC has adopted a three-level approach — awareness, field monitoring and enforcement. An independent consultant has been engaged for third-party audits, while the ‘Har Din 4 Bin’ campaign is being carried out through RWAs, market associations, schools and other institutions. Three sanitation squads covering all 14 sanitation circles have been formed for surprise inspections and enforcement. From Jan 1 to Aug 31, NDMC recorded 433 challans for violations, including 87 in Aug alone, said officials.The bylaws will strengthen provisions for 29 bulk waste generators. “Their compliance is being monitored through day-wise data, while NDMC is continuing identification of other eligible generators,” said officials.To ensure that segregated waste remains separate during collection and transportation, NDMC uses its 311 platform, MIS and Integrated Command & Control Centre for monitoring, along with photographic evidence and field inspections. “As per proposed norms, centralised CPCB portal will be used for registration, returns and GPS tracking of collection vehicles,” said officials.
