Pune: Clover Centre Alleges Negligence As Cantonment Board Halts Garbage Collection Over Fee Dispute

Pune: Residents and commercial occupants of the Clover Centre Cooperative Housing Society in Camp have alleged negligence by Pune Cantonment Board officials after the sudden discontinuation of long-standing garbage collection services. The Clover Society has now written to the Maharashtra Health Department seeking urgent intervention.

Located on Moledina Road and established in 1989, Clover Centre is one of the major property tax contributors in the Cantonment area. For nearly four decades, Cantonment staff collected garbage from the premises. However, residents claim that in October 2025, the Board abruptly stopped the service and demanded exorbitant additional payments to continue waste collection.

The Society further alleges that Cantonment workers have been captured on video bringing garbage from other localities and dumping it at the entrance of the complex using official vehicles. Despite repeated requests, the accumulated waste has remained unattended for nearly three months, creating severe hygiene and safety concerns.

Residents say the piled-up garbage is blocking road access, leaving the premises vulnerable during emergencies. Both the Fire Department and Police have been alerted, and the Society holds the Cantonment Board responsible for any mishap arising from the situation.

Multiple meetings and email exchanges with the Cantonment CEO and Health Officer Pramod Kadam have failed to resolve the issue. Instead, the Society claims it has received retaliatory notices and fines after raising complaints. They also allege that drains around the building are deliberately left uncleaned as an additional pressure tactic.

In their communication to the Health Department, Clover Centre residents have also highlighted the presence of an allegedly illegal juice stall operating directly outside the building. According to them, the stall has encroached upon the JJ Garden wall and is functioning with a permanent electricity and water connection, an arrangement that residents claim is not possible without official support.

Jyotsna Khandekar, chairperson of the Clover centre co-operative housing society, said, "It's been three months since PCB has not been collecting garbage from our society, and the garbage can be seen piled up on roads and footpaths. PCB has asked us to pay charges that were neither discussed nor justified, especially given that the cantonment board had been providing the service for decades without dispute." 

Prashant Thorat, another resident, highlighted that, "Earlier, PCB used to collect the garbage from our society without charges, and in 2017 board collaborated with the SWaTCH NGO on a contract basis to collect the garbage from the societies where the cantonment could not reach. The NGO and board decided Rs 30 for residential properties and Rs 129 for commercial establishments. However, we never paid the amount, but now they are saying that the garbage will only be disposed of if we pay Rs 50 for residential flats and Rs 500 for commercial establishments. This is unfair, and when we asked for the official documents, we weren't shown anything. We refuse to pay heavy taxes." 

The Pune Cantonment Board issued a demand notice to Clover Centre on November 20 under the Solid Waste Management Rules. The notice directed the society to deposit ₹1,03,750 for door-to-door segregated garbage collection. The Board calculated the charges as follows:

201 commercial units Rs 500 each: Rs 1,00,500. 65 units at Rs 50 each: Rs 3,250. 

Chief Executive Officer Pune Cantonment Board, Vidyadhar Pawar said, "The garbage processing unit was non-functional for a few days due to unsegregated waste, and the processing units were undergoing repair work, which is why the garbage was piled up. All the societies in the camp area are paying the charges levied for the segregation of waste; only this society is refusing to pay the charges.” 

“We conducted four meetings with them, but they still refuse to pay. And the waste that is piled up there is all dry fabric waste, and it will be picked once the residents and commercial establishments pay the charges," Pawar added.