Sherab Lhamo

Thimphu Thromde’s significant hike in amenities fees, covering services like garbage collection and street lighting, has not gone down well with building owners and tenants.

With the sharp spike in fees, building owners are shelling out more than double the amount compared to last year.

One owner  paid Nu 42,000 this year—a jump of Nu 27,000 from last year’s fee of Nu 15,000 for a 25-flat residential building.

Another owner said that the amenities fees had surged to Nu 51,000 from Nu 19,000 the previous year.

For those with multiple buildings, the increase has been even more dramatic, with some having to pay fees exceeding Nu 100,000.

The Thimphu Thromde has attributed the hike to the outsourcing of garbage collection services. Greener Way now handles waste collection in the northern part of the city, while Green Bhutan Services manages the southern zone.

A thromde official explained that last year, the Thromde collected waste twice a week—once for dry waste and once for wet waste. However, with the outsourcing of services, the frequency has increased to four times a week, with separate collections for both types of waste.

The increased fees are also tied to the operational costs of the private companies involved, the maintenance of the drop-off centres, and staffing for waste segregation at the Memelakha landfill.

In addition to the increase in garbage collection fees—from Nu 25 to Nu 50 for residential areas, and Nu 50 to Nu 100 for commercial areas—building owners raised concerns about the lack of system integration with occupancy certificates.

One owner said that despite completing construction in March and occupying the building in April, they were charged the amenities fee starting in January, months before their building was ready for occupancy.

While the Thromde had announced plans to integrate the amenities fee payment system into the Thimphu Thromde (TTPay) app,  building owners said that this integration is yet to be completed.

In November 2024, Thimphu Thromde announced that from 2024 onward, amenities fees would be collected on a monthly basis, instead of the annual billing system used in previous years. However, due to delays in system updates, owners are still paying the fee annually.

Starting in 2025, residents will have the option to pay either monthly or yearly.

Streetlight fees, which amount to Nu 240 annually (Nu 20 per tenant per month), have also raised questions.

The thromde official explained that these fees are necessary to cover electricity costs incurred by Bhutan Power Corporation for streetlight maintenance. Although the fees do not fully cover the total electricity costs, they are intended to help offset the expense.

“As every individual is using the street lights within the thromde, they are required to pay the fee, although this fee does not cover the full electricity charge,” said the official.

One building owner in Babesa said that, while the fee increases are frustrating, they acknowledge the necessity of paying for essential services like garbage collection and street lighting, similar to utility bills for water and electricity.

Due to delays in system enhancements, the deadline for paying 2024 amenities fees has been extended until March 29, 2025.