Dumping garbage in Ludhiana’s Buddha Nullah to invite ₹5,000 fine

The zonal commissioners of Zone A, B and D will conduct surprise inspections in the morning and evening to supervise the nodal officers and MC police teams deputed for surveillance

Reviving the drive against garbage dumping in Buddha Nullah, municipal corporation (MC) commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal has directed officials to step up surveillance and penalise violators with ₹5,000 challans.

According to an MC official, residents dump garbage in the stream to avoid paying waste collection charges. (HT Photo)

The corporation had initiated a campaign to rid the nullah of garbage in December last year, wherein 24 nodal officers were deputed to conduct surveillance around the 14km-stretch of the nullah and issue challans to violators.

However, the drive lost steam during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, Sabharwal conducted a meeting with officials of the MC’s health branch at the Zone A office and directed officials to issue regular challans to violators through the day.

“The zonal commissioners of Zone A, B and D will also conduct surprise inspections in the morning and evening to supervise the nodal officers and MC police teams deputed for surveillance,” he said.

Different teams of college and school students also conducted awareness drives in the areas near the nullah.

An MC official said while the ₹650-crore project to rejuvenate Buddha Nullah was already underway, garbage was still being dumped in the nullah and had to be stopped. “A large number of residents discard waste in the nullah instead of handing it over to the garbage collectors to save fees. MC has fined several violators, but the illegal practice continues,” the official added.