BMC lists violators of construction waste law

Bhubaneswar: The East Coast Railways (ECoR), Indian Rare Earth Limited, some nationalised banks, state works departments and many central government institutions have been found to be major violators of construction and demolition (C&D) waste handling in the city, the BMC has said.
The C&D waste stacked up on public roads not only kills the beauty of the city but also leads to accidents. The BMC so far has collected Rs 86 lakh from 729 violators of C&D waste. In June, the BMC standing committee on waste and sanitation had approved constitution of three more squads for raids and inspection to enforce C&D waste disposal. From July 1, the civic body intensified the drive.
BMC said according to the rule, waste generated through construction, repair, re-modelling and demolition of private and government establishments, households, roads and drains, should be handled properly to avoid litter. However, most of the government institutions throw norms to winds despite awareness drives before launch of the special campaign since July 1.
BMC officials said the C&D waste, if remained abandoned, encroaches space of the road and lends an ugly look to the city. “It also causes accidents and clogs drain. The special drive against C&D waste is on and three squads are engaged in enforcing it,” said BMC deputy commissioner (sanitation) Suvendu Sahu.
A BMC squad is authorised to impose a penalty of Rs 5,000 on the owners of such waste. In addition, if the BMC removes the waste using its own tractor, it charges Rs 4,500 per trip.
In September last year, the government had asked all the urban local bodies (ULBs) to identify spots, where C&D waste have piled up. They were asked to issue notices to owners who have dumped waste, asking them to lift at own cost. If they want the ULBs to collect, required fees along with fine (as per quantity of waste) will be fetched from the owner, the state had then said.