In a bid to mitigate Bengaluru’s perennial garbage problem, the civic body in the city, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has proposed increased financial penalties for defaulters in its Solid Waste Management (SWM) draft Byelaws 2019. The draft laws will be finalised within a period of one month once it’s published in the state Gazette.
Randeep D, Additional Commissioner BBMP, said, “There is a 30-day period to make changes once it is notified in the Gazette. This will be put on the Gazette in this week. We have posted it on the BBMP website already. In this 30-day period, people can give their objections and opinions.”
He added, “The changes can be incorporated if the objections are reasonable in nature. And if some clauses need a relook in the larger interest of SWM, then the Commissioner will asses them on a case-by-case basis.”
On the other hand, the SWM cell has introduced an ‘Adopt a Street’ Programme to use corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for the purpose of additional cleaning, greenery and increasing walkability on the streets.
This initiative has been launched based on a success story in Indiranagar where Trivium eSolutions, a company located on Double Road, adopted the street and showed instant results.
Speaking on this, Randeep, said, “These will be supplementary efforts, over and above what we are doing. These can be additional beautification, minor maintenance works adding to visual cleanliness. We will not take any cash from them but if they contribute directly to the system, it will help.”
Steeper fines
People will be fined Rs 500 for littering, spitting, urinating, defecating in the open for their first offence and Rs 1,000 for subsequent offences.
In the proposed structure, people will be fined Rs 5,000 for burning or burying garbage and if bulk waste generators do the same, they will be charged Rs 25,000.
For households, failure to segregate waste (separate dry and wet) will attract a fine of Rs 500 for the first offence and Rs 1,000 for subsequent offences. And the same for waste collectors will be Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 2,000 for further such violations.
For construction units, failure to store construction and demolition waste in a segregated manner will attract a fine of Rs 5,000 per tonne and Rs 10,000 per tonne for subsequent violations.
The hike will also mean that existing fines for violations pertaining to solid wastes, plastic and waste generated in events, will be hiked.
Consumers using plastic will be fined Rs 5,000 for the first offence and Rs 1,000 for subsequent offences.
These steep fines have been proposed by the BBMP as per a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order in March.
Other than this, traders selling /reselling banned forms of plastic will be fined Rs 50,000 for the first offence and Rs 1 lakh for repeat violations.
Dr Sandhya Narayan, Member of the BBMP’s Solid Waste Management Round Table, said, “This is not a way to scare the people but enforce the rules. What happens now is there are multiple instances of repeat violations. Now if one person burns his hands, he will tell other hundred persons about the enforcement. This should be thoroughly implemented.”
‘Adopt a street’
As part of this, NGOs and corporates can augment BBMP’s street cleaning efforts by any or all of the following three methods:
Street cleaning programme— conduct clean-up drives (at least once a month), remove or report illegal flexes, banners, posters and cables, transform existing dumpsites, support an additional daily shift of street cleaning through own staff.
Street greening— Protect and maintain all trees and plants on the footpath and median, plant new trees and shrubs as per approval, report dead trees and branches that need trimming.
Improving walkability— Identify and execute minor repairs to damaged footpaths, assistance in removing minor obstructions from the footpath, repairs to prevent waterlogging and facilitate water flow into SWD (storm water drain) augmenting BBMP Electrical Dept efforts by reporting non-functional streetlights and supporting their repairs.
Additionally, corporates can also add facilities like waste bins and benches with the approval of the BBMP department concerned.