Amid recent complaints of illegal debris dumping in several parts of the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) formed an inter-departmental team on Tuesday to take action against the violators, officials of the solid waste management department (SWM) said.
The collaborative inter-departmental team includes the assistant municipal commissioner, building inspectors and divisional sanitary inspectors. This team will work under the supervision of their respective Deputy Commissioner (Zone). All departmental heads are instructed to inform their officers and staff about the directives, said the officials in the circular.
According to the officials, despite repeated instructions issued by the municipal commissioner’s office to remove such debris and take strict action against unauthorised dumping, it has been observed that debris continues to be dumped in several locations in Pune.
Sandip Kadam, head of the SWM department of PMC, said, illegal dumping of debris is a serious issue, and we have decided that any vehicles found dumping debris in riverbeds, drains, roadsides, or open spaces will be seized.
“PMC will take stern action against such errant organisations and individuals as per provisions of the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and Environmental Protection Act amongst other rules. The violators will be penalised and construction permissions of individuals and developers will be cancelled. Besides, criminal cases, registration of contractors will be revoked, and they will be blacklisted,” Kadam said.
{{/usCountry}}“PMC will take stern action against such errant organisations and individuals as per provisions of the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 and Environmental Protection Act amongst other rules. The violators will be penalised and construction permissions of individuals and developers will be cancelled. Besides, criminal cases, registration of contractors will be revoked, and they will be blacklisted,” Kadam said.
{{/usCountry}}As per the official in PMC jurisdiction debris, soil, broken bricks, and other waste materials generated from private construction activities and various civic development work are often found dumped in riverbeds, alongside roads or in open spaces. This leads to blockages in water flow during the rainy season, causing flood-like situations, they said.
Kadam further added, “The team have been asked to submit detailed reports of actions taken within their jurisdiction every 15 days. Any negligence in taking action disciplinary action will be taken against that respective deputy commissioner (Zone), assistant municipal commissioner, building inspectors, divisional sanitary inspectors, and sanitary inspectors holding them responsible.”