Bhubaneswar, May 2: The civic body has decided to impose heavy fines on the public works department and the public health engineering organisation for irregular dumping of construction and demolition waste in the city.
The irregular dumping of construction material by these two government agencies was a major issue at the last corporation meeting. Several councillors had raised the issue of non-implementation of the construction and demolition waste management rules in the city.
"Two dumping sites, Patia and the other near Kargil Basti, have been identified by the civic body for dumping of construction and demolition waste material. According to the rules, it is the duty of the waste generator to dump waste at these designated sites, but not many are abiding by it," said a councillor.
Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said after a discussion in the House, it was decided that stringent measures would be taken to check the existing practise. "We will transport the waste material to the designated dumping site and charge the waste generator Rs 3,000 for each trip," Jena said.
The civic body has decided to designate respective zonal development commissioners, to enforce the rules. "The commissioners will find out who is dumping the garbage with the help of ground-level officials. We will transport the waste material and send the receipt for recovery of the amount to the generators," said Jena.
The new construction and demolition waste management rules mandate that agency or individual who generates waste from construction, re-modelling, repair and demolition of any civil structure of individual, organisation or authority has the responsibility to handle it in a proper manner.
The civic body will provide the place for dumping the waste, but it is the generators who should dump the waste at the identified spot.
THE REAL PICTURE
On May 4, Bhubaneswar will know where it stands among the winners of Swachh Survekshan II. The city will add another feather to its crown, but how clean is Bhubaneswar? Sandeep Mishra of The Telegraph travels across the city to get an answer to the question doing the rounds
