Now, pay more for not sorting trash, debris drops

From now on, think twice before you throw garbage on the road. You may have to fork out Rs 500, instead of the usual Rs 100.

Five years after the penalty was revised in the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2013, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has finally taken steps to effect the fivefold increase.

BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad submitted the revised penalty list to Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar on Tuesday. DH has a copy of the letter which reads: “The chief secretary held a coordination meeting on October 15 and directed the BBMP to revise the penalty for the offence related to garbage.”

Littering, spitting, urinating, open defecation and other acts of nuisance on roads, bus stations, railway stations, playgrounds and other premises of public utility will attract a fine of Rs 500 for the first time and Rs 1,000 for every subsequent time.

Not segregating waste at source will attract a penalty of Rs 500 for the first time and Rs 1,000 for every subsequent time. Bulk generators or commercial complexes will have to cough up Rs 2,500 for the first offence and Rs 5,000 for every subsequent offence. Illegally dumping construction and demolition (C&D) waste will be penalised with a fine of Rs 5,000 for the first time and Rs 25,000 for every subsequent time.

The BBMP also proposed to increase the penalty every year by 20%. It has categorised the acts of commission or omission into eight parts.

Prasad told this newspaper: “We hadn’t revised the penalty in the past five years. We have now revised it to keep the city clean and crack down on the illegal dumping of garbage. This may reduce black spots in the city.”

It remains to be seen how the short-staffed and cash-strapped BBMP will enforce the new penalty tariff.

At an event organised by ‘DH & Citizen for Civic Amenities’ on October 6, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara had directed the BBMP chief to increase the penalty after many residents complained that the meagre fine failed to deter litterers.