4 minutes of readingBombayUpdated: January 29, 2026 10:04 pm IST
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is considering introducing a ‘user fee’ for waste management at gatherings of more than 100 people and impose penalties for failure to segregate household hazardous waste, as part of the proposed changes to the city’s solid waste management rules under the new Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules 2026 notified by the central government earlier this week.
Starting April 1, urban and rural local bodies across the country will implement stricter solid waste management norms after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on Tuesday notified the SWM Rules 2026, which replace the decade-old SWM Rules 2016. The new rules will apply to cities as well as bulk waste generators such as residential complexes and universities.
Among the key changes introduced in the new rules are mandatory segregation of waste into four streams at source and clearly defined responsibilities for bulk waste generators. For the first time, the guidelines require the separate collection of hazardous household waste, including used diapers, sanitary pads, tampons, condoms, incontinence sheets and other health and hygiene absorbents.
Under the new norms, senior BMC officials said the civic body is considering enforcing waste segregation in four directions, including a new category for household hazardous waste, which will be collected in yellow bins.
Additionally, the BMC will impose on-site waste processing and four-way segregation for bulk generators. In Mumbai, an establishment is classified as a bulk waste generator if it has an area of more than 20,000 square meters, consumes more than 40,000 liters of water per day or generates at least 100 kg of waste per day.
Talking to him indian expressBMC officials said a fine of up to Rs 10,000 can be imposed on bulk waste generators for not processing waste at source, as prescribed by the new rules.
“In Mumbai, we had already started the household hazardous waste collection program where societies or other places like schools or beauty parlors could register and the BMC would then provide services to them. However, we got weak responses as everything was suo moto. Now, with the new SWM rules, we have been given the power to make these measures mandatory.”
“With the notification of the new bylaws, we are considering bringing forward a proposal to impose penalty on bulk waste generators and other segments who do not segregate waste into four forms,” a senior BMC official said.
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BMC records show that only 5,596 establishments in Mumbai have registered for collection of healthcare and special care waste as of January 2026. Of them, over 4,000 are housing complexes, 1,196 are beauty parlours, 347 are educational institutions and 42 are women’s hostels.
The civic body also plans to introduce a ‘user fee’ for managing waste generated at events with more than 100 attendees at a time.
In the coming months, the BMC will also focus on commissioning waste-to-energy facilities to process waste and reduce the burden on landfills.
While the new bylaws provide for a tax on solid waste, BMC officials said no such fee will be introduced in Mumbai in view of concerns raised by citizens and political representatives. In April 2025, the civic body had proposed a user fee for solid waste management services, a move that drew criticism from multiple quarters and was later withdrawn.
