Date:07/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/07/stories/2008100751780300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Municipality to penalise waste disposal on streets

Staff Reporter

The fine will range from Rs.25 to Rs.2,000

Rearing of pigs will be banned in the township area
Debris should not be left over for more than a day in construction sites

VANIYAMBADI: The Vaniyambadi municipality has decided to impose fine on residents who dispose of wastes in street corners.

The resolution has been accepted by the municipal council. The fine will range from Rs.25 to Rs.2,000.

Municipality officials said rearing of pigs would be banned in the township area. Even fine would be imposed if the animals were let loose in streets. Further, the residents would be asked to segregate waste at source before handing it over to conservancy workers.

The officials said waste should not be arbitrarily disposed of on streets and in residential areas.

Conservancy workers would be involved in door-to-door collection of waste in all residential areas. The only thing the residents were required to do was to segregate it into organic and inorganic waste. Pamphlets would be distributed.

Dustbins would be installed at various locations. The waste generated by shops, government and private offices and commercial complexes had to be dumped in the dustbin. Likewise, eateries and lodges would be required to segregate the wastes at source and hand it over to conservancy workers.

The officials said a strategy had been worked out for areas with Housing Board apartments. In these areas, the residents, after segregation, should store it in objects closed at the top and keep them in areas earmarked by the municipality. Thence the vehicles would transport it to the dumping yard. The door-to-door collection would not be introduced in these areas.

The municipality has also given importance to safe disposal of clinical and biomedical waste from hospitals and dispensaries.

Officials said the conservancy workers would not clear such waste. The hospitals and dispensaries concerned should safely dispose it of, following the norms of the Pollution Control Board. If they failed to do so, the civic body would impose a heavy fine on them.

Debris should not be left over for more than one day on all construction sites. The building owners should dispose them of in 24 hours. Service charges would be levied if the municipality was involved in clearing it. The burning of wastes, plastics and rubber would not be allowed in the town, including in the dumping yard. Moreover, the road-side vendors should desist from littering the drainage canals. If anyone was seen littering the canals, fine would be imposed on him.