Living in the capital city is going to be more expensive with the Thimphu Thromde revising amenity fees. The latest is the garbage and streetlight fees that could amount to several thousands of Ngultrums.

The information is not clear, but breaking down a building owner’s payment, it is more than 100 percent of what she paid last year – from Nu 19,000 to 51,000 in just a year. The increase is attributed to outsourcing waste collection to private companies and making property owners pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the costly streetlights.

The cash-strapped thromde needs revenue. They can only raise from fees and penalties as the larger junk of the revenue- from taxes, including the revised property taxes goes to the government coffer. The thromde is under immense pressure to improve services. When we talk about services in the capital city, we are talking about basic services like 24-hour drinking water, smooth roads, proper drainage system and waste disposal. The concept of a green and clean city is still in the plans as the broke thromde cannot spend on improving services.

The increase in garbage and streetlight fees will improve the revenue of the thromde. It is not to increase their benefits. It should be ploughed back to improve amenities. The thromde would need more than what they can collect from fees and penalties. There is no budget with the government to fund improvement of infrastructure and amenities, the thromde is relying on the property owners.

As long as the facility improves and the residents feel that they are living in the country’s capital city, they will not complain. But our biggest drawback is not being able to improve services even after strangling the property owners and the residents. For instance, the capital city’s roads are bad, congested and pothole-ridden. Garbage is still a problem and so is reliable water supply. 

If services improve, property owners and residents will not complain. If we have reliable drinking water, smooth roads and timely waste collection, many will not feel the pinch of the revised fees. When services cannot keep up with the burden of paying fees and taxes, residents complain. The massive revised property tax has alarmed property owners. They are losing the patience of not seeing improved services.

The revision of fees on garbage and streetlights has already shocked property owners. Many are already thinking of passing it down to tenants. This makes sense as waste disposal is the responsibility of the tenants. The benefits of streetlights, if they are reliable, is enjoyed by the capital city’s residents. Some property owners are questioning the absence of streetlights in their periphery, but everyone is enjoying the brightly lit expressway and the urban roads from Dechenchholing to Babesa.

This gives reasons for property owners to pass down the burden of urban amenity fees. Like the water and electricity bills landlords will, and have reasons, to share the burden. Once both landlords and tenants feel the pressure of the fees, they will question the thromde. There will be no questions asked if the capital city becomes cleaner, greener and more livable. If the current problems of traffic jams, bad roads, lack of parking space, reliable water and garbage collection persists, the thromde should be made answerable.

So far, the Thromde and Thrompon had gotten away without delivering on the promises. If property owners and the capital’s residents feel the burden of living in the city without improved services, there will be hard questions to answer.  When the burden is huge, they will not wait for the next election. The thromde must deliver to not make the residents feel the burden.