Garbage dumped at a vacant plot in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Sept. 4: The development authority has decided to act tough on those dumping waste on various vacant plots in the city.

The decision was taken following resentment among many people as such vacant plots had become dumping yards, causing severe inconvenience to them.

“We have issued notification asking owners to ensure speedy construction of houses at the allotted plots so that the unused space is not used as a dumping yard,” said Cuttack Development Authority (CDA) secretary Saroj Sethi.

Sethi further said it had become essential to stick to proper sanitation measures keeping in view the recent dengue outbreak in the city.

Over 900 dengue cases have already been reported from the city in the last two months.

The development authority will also take steps to ensure that rainwater and sewer is not accumulated on various vacant plots in the city, which can become potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

“We will issue showcause notice to those who have violated our norms by not carrying out construction within a stipulated timeframe. We have also asked plot owners to get their building plans approved at the earliest,” Sethi said.

Another official of the development authority said that to prevent accumulation of rainwater the plot owners had been asked to ensure that the land was filled with sand.

The problem of vacant plots turning to dumping and mosquito-breeding grounds has assumed serious proportions in places such as the CDA satellite township, Mahanadi Vihar and Sikharpur.

“Many people dump waste on vacant plots at CDA and other parts of the city because of lack of civic sense. Though we had earlier asked the Cuttack Municipal Corporation to clear the garbage, they did not take any action in this regard,” said Basudev Das, a resident of CDA Sector-10.

Besides, local residents alleged that the sanitation workers of the civic body were also dumping waste on the vacant plots.

Following a CDA notification, the plot owners have been asked to start construction in the allotted land at the earliest after getting necessary approvals.

“We welcome such decision, but the CDA should also ensure that the existing process for getting various plan and other approvals are simplified so that applicants can start construction without much delay,” said Dilip Bhuyan, a resident of CDA township.

Corporation officials, on the other hand, said dustbins had already been allotted in all the 54 wards of the city.

Awareness drives are also conducted requesting people not to litter waste on road or dump it on vacant plots in the city.