Employees of Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation collect garbage at Suta Patti on Tuesday. Picture by Lokesh Bihari

The Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation has decided to crack the whip on residents sullying the town’s main roads with garbage throughout the day.

Residents and businessmen in the town found dumping garbage on the main roads after 8 in the morning would be fined up to Rs 500. The directive, which was issued on Tuesday, will come in to effect from November 20.

The civic body has formed 12 teams of circle inspectors and circle officers to ensure the directive is complied with.

Municipal commissioner Sita Choudhary told The Telegraph: “The civic body has requested residents as well as shopkeepers to provide a helping hand to the garbage collection teams. They have been advised to keep dustbins at their homes and place of business. The garbage disposal teams will find it easy to collect the waste the next morning. Those residents and shopkeepers who dare to throw garbage on the main roads after 8 in the morning would be fined from Rs 100 to Rs 500. If they do not pay the fine in a week, the circle inspector concerned will lodge an FIR against them.”

The residents have been given 14 days’ time to get used to the new directive. Till then, the civic body officials would announce the new guideline through loudspeakers as part of an awareness campaign.

As part of the campaign, the ward representatives will inform businessmen and residents in their areas about the directive and stress on the need to maintain cleanliness.

The people in the town appreciated the decision.

Anil Poddar, a resident of Suta Patti, said: “For the first time, the corporation has dared to act tough on the wrongdoers who create nuisance on the road by throwing garbage throughout the day.”

Prabhat Kumar, a medicine trader, said: “People of the town should come forward and adhere to the new guidelines and stop throwing garbage on the roads.”