Owners of plots that are larger than 7 cottahs could soon have to give an undertaking to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) that they will ensure that the construction waste is transported to a plant meant to process it.
If they fail, the civic body can initiate proceedings to punish errant owners and the penal provisions would include even imprisonment.
The civic body will take the undertaking before it approves the building plan and allows construction to start.
The owner’s responsibility will not end with signing the undertaking.
The KMC will issue a completion certificate when the building is ready only after the owner has submitted receipts issued by the plant as evidence that the construction waste was actually sent there.
Though the undertaking will have to be signed only in case of new construction, the fine amount will be applicable to waste generated during demolition or repairs that are not properly disposed of.
An official said according to the proposal, a person will be fined Rs 10,000 for mixing construction waste with other solid waste. The fine for throwing construction waste in public places is Rs 20,000.
Throwing the waste into water bodies or drains can invite a penalty of up to Rs 2 lakh or imprisonment of up to three years or both.
“The KMC will file a case against the errant owner and send it to the municipal magistrate’s court. The magistrate will decide the actual quantum of punishment,” said a KMC official. If the waste is not removed within seven days after construction/demolition/repairs, the owner will be fined Rs 5,000 per tonne.
Civic officials said at present the construction waste — cement, bricks, sand and stone chips, among others — from most sites is dumped on vacant land or they are used to illegally fill up water bodies and marshes. Such disposal of waste is also a cause of air pollution.
The KMC’s mayoral council passed the proposal on Saturday. It will be placed before the civic house and then sent to the state government which could place it before the Assembly for a final nod. “Owners of plots that are more than 500 sq m have to give an undertaking saying that they will either transport the waste on their own or take the KMC’s help to transport the waste. If we find that they are disposing of the waste elsewhere, we will impose penalties,” said a senior KMC official.
The official said the civic body will initially ask for an undertaking from owners of plots that are more than 500 sq m — about 7.5 cottahs — but eventually, all plot owners will have to sign such an undertaking.
“The waste generated by larger plots is more and they have the potential to damage the environment.”
The civic body has set up a construction and demolition waste plant in New Town that can process up to 500 tonnes of such waste in a day. The waste will be used as raw materials to make blocks used to pave footpaths or used in common spaces of large complexes.
Generators of any construction and demolition waste can visit the ward or borough office of the KMC’s solid waste management department and ask for a vehicle to transport the waste after paying the necessary charges.
