HC petition seeks order to stop garbage collection fees from Dhaka households

A writ petition has been filed seeking a High Court directive to stop the collection of fees or charges for collecting household waste by cycle-van in the areas under the Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation.

The petition was filed today, Sunday, with the relevant bench of the High Court by a lawyer of the Supreme Court.

A Prothom Alo report published on 18 May under the headline ‘Workers haul the waste, leaders fill their pockets’ was attached to the petition, along with other reports on the issue. Supreme Court lawyer Salah Uddin Regan cited these reports in support of the writ petition.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Salah Uddin Regan said the city corporations already collect holding tax from homeowners. The holding tax includes several components, including waste removal and disposal.

Since residents already pay for waste management through the holding tax, the city corporations cannot legally charge a separate monthly fee for waste collection through cycle-van services. This is illegal, he added.

The lawyer further said that the writ seeks a directive to stop the collection of fees or charges for household waste collection by cycle-van services in both the Dhaka North and Dhaka South City Corporation areas.

The petition has been placed before a High Court bench comprising Justice Razik-Al-Jalil and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury for hearing, the petitioner said.

Earlier, on 10 June, the petitioner submitted separate applications to the administrators of the Dhaka North and Dhaka South City Corporations seeking an end to the collection of household waste collection fees.

After receiving no response, he sent legal notices earlier this month to the secretary of the Local Government Division and other relevant authorities. As no visible action followed, he filed the writ petition today, said the lawyer.