Noida ups ante, to file cases for illegal garbage dumping, burning

NOIDA: The district administration has decided to categorise garbage dumping or burning as a ‘public nuisance’ and register cases against those violating the rules of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, in this regard in Noida.

The decision could lead to violaters being fined or imprisoned upto six months. The step has been taken on the basis of multiple complaints from the twin cities over illegal garbage dumping and burning in open areas.

According to the sources, Section 151 of the IPC is invoked to disperse unlawful gathering of persons who are suspected of causing disturbance to the public peace. However, in this case, the section is to be used in a generic manner for causing ‘public nuisance.’

“We have been receiving complaints and we will not be taking such violations lightly. The violators, whether they be vendors appointed by the authorities, or garbage disposers out of private residences, if caught, will be prosecuted under Section 151 of the IPC for public nuisance. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards the garbage disposal issue,” B N Singh, district magistrate, said.

On Monday, the district administration held a meeting with officials of the Noida Authority, the Greater Noida Authority, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai) and representatives of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board.

Recently, the National Green Tribunal had sent an expert to survey the status of garbage disposal in Gautam Budh Nagar. The survey was conducted with the support of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB).

“Garbage continues to be dumped randomly even now and garbage burning is also common still. The survey by NGT was to assess on-ground reality–there are many places where garbage is just casually being dumped. In other places, the vendors themselves are setting garbage on fire. So today’s decision should check the violators immediately,” Anil Singh, regional officer, Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) said.

“Section 151 deals with public nuisance. The administration had to take this stand as agencies have failed to take control of the garbage issue on the ground. We have been repeatedly getting complaints of garbage burning as well,” an officer from UPPCB added.

“The responsibility for taking control of correct garbage disposal also goes to the builders and the residents welfare associations. This was discussed in Monday’s meeting. On-the-spot action will be taken against violators,” Ashok Kumar Tiwari, regional officer for UPPCB, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, said.