Dump garbage at your own risk in east Delhi

Vacant plot owners to pay steep fine if found guilty

If you own a piece of vacant land in east Delhi being used as a dumping ground for garbage, better stop the practice or else be ready to face penal action by coughing up a steep fine.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation is all set to launch a special drive in the coming week against owners of vacant lands —  whether private individuals or government agencies — which have been turned into dumping grounds for garbage or construction waste.

The officials said East Corporation commissioner S S Yadav has ordered the deputy commissioners of Shahadra (north) and Shahadra (south) zones to act against all such land owners, apart from ensuring that all the garbage is lifted from the spot.  

“The commissioner has ordered both the deputy commissioners to make sure that all garbage is lifted from any vacant land in the area. Officials have also been asked to issue challans against the land owners,” said a senior corporation official.  

“If the land is owned by a government agency, the concered department will have to pay the fine,” the official added.

According to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, littering will invite a fine of Rs 500 while those who dump construction waste on roads — one of the biggest offenders — will have to pay a steeper fine of Rs 2,000-3,000.

The litterbugs will also be made to remove the mess at their own expense.
Several private land owners purposely allow to the garbage to be dumped on their land for levelling it, while government agencies do not bother to check their status, say officials.

“Some people do it purposely and the corporation receives complaints from people in the neighbourhood. Garbage and construction waste have to be dumped only at designated places,” an official said.  

The East Corporation, during the first six months of its creation in April, has fined around 10,000 residents for creating unsanitary conditions in public places.

Littering, urinating, spitting and throwing construction waste on roads come under the offences.
In comparison, the unified MCD challaned just about 10,000-15,000 people a year.