Littering public places to attract Rs 5,000 fine

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 12

littering public places will cost you Rs 5,000, as the administration will soon notify an amendment to the sanitation rules proposed by the MC, Chandigarh. Sources said the amendment to the rules has got the nod of the Department of Local Bodies and is awaiting the Administrator’s approval.

Municipal Commissioner Baldeo Purushartha said the heavy penalty had been proposed and it would serve as a deterrent for habitual offenders. Sanitation is the top priority of the MC and the step has been taken in that direction, he added.

Under the existing sanitation rules, there is a fine of Rs 500 which hardly deters violators and they continue to litter places with garbage.

He said the MC had started awareness campaigns to educate residents on sanitation, which had received welcome help to the MC thrust on waste management.

He said the government had initiated big reforms in waste handling, and the intent shown in the recent times for waste management in the country had boosted our morale. He said the Municipal Corporation was distributing double bins, i.e. green-blue bin, to each household to segregate waste at the source, so the waste will be managed according to the set norms. He said once the system was in place, they expected cooperation from the residents in making the city clean.

The general house of the MC has already approved the proposal. Mayor Asha Jaswal said the aim of the MC was not revenue generation but they wanted that the heavy penalty should be used as a deterrent. She said the MC would educate residents against throwing garbage in non-designated areas of the city, so Chandigarh can be made the cleanest city of India.