A meeting of the Lunglei Town Sanitation Task Force was convened yesterday at the DC Conference Hall under the Chairmanship of Additional DC Pu David Liansanglura Pachuau. The meeting was attended by the concerned Government Officials, NGO’s and Village Council Presidents of Lunglei town area.

Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and The Mizoram Solid Waste Management Bye Laws 2018 were studied and deliberated at length by the members present. It was pointed out that  under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, responsibility of waste generators has been introduced to segregate waste into three categories – Wet, Dry and Hazardous Waste. Apart from this, waste generator will have to pay ‘User Fee’ to the waste collector and a ‘Spot Fine’ for littering and non-segregation, the quantum of which will be decided by the local bodies. There was a lively debate regarding the quantum of ‘User Fee’ to be charged to various categories of waste generators. It was agreed by all present that since the distance to the dumping ground vary greatly between different localities (Veng),  a flat rate of ‘User Fee’ cannot be applied for Lunglei town as a whole. In such a scenario, it was agreed that Village Councils of respective localities have the freedom to charge anywhere from Rs 50/- to Rs. 100/- per household per month as 'User Fee'. Rates were also fixed for various categories of waste generators including clinics, hotels, hostels, commercial establishments, manufacturing units, hawkers etc. The issue of lack of awareness regarding sanitation and cleanliness amongst the masses of Lunglei was also highlighted at the meeting.