You’ll be fined for throwing plastic bag in drain

If you are caught throwing garbage in a drain you will have to pay anything between Rs 100 and Rs 5,000 as a fine. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to ensure the city’s drains do not choke on garbage and debris, has decided to impose a fine on people found dumping garbage in them.

If you are caught throwing garbage in a drain you will have to pay anything between Rs 100 and Rs 5,000 as a fine. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to ensure the city’s drains do not choke on garbage and debris, has decided to impose a fine on people found dumping garbage in them.

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For the first time, BMC teams formed in every ward under the ward officer will go around the city keeping an eye out for offenders.

“A fine of Rs 100 up to Rs 5,000 can be levied on them,” said Municipal Commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya. The amount of fine will depend on how much garbage an individual dumps. Clean up marshals will also be told to be alert.

“Throwing garbage in the open is an offence because it leads to choking of the drains. If drains are choked it will lead to flooding,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner, Ashish Kumar Singh.

Many nullahs (drains) pass through thickly populated slums. Even if the drains are cleaned garbage from the slums is found floating in them the next day.

The Hindustan Times’ audit of the city’s drains conducted on June 2 showed that the Chamdawadi nullah that passes through the Behrampada slum in Bandra (East) was choked with garbage that people living in homes near the drain throw in it.

The BMC finds it difficult to clean these drains regularly because most of them are difficult to access because of shanties built around them.

The municipal corporation has also directed all community-based organisations that have adopted slums under the Slum Adoption Scheme to ensure that slum dwellers do not dirty the nearby drains.

These organisations will also have to monitor their areas for flood-prone spots and contact the ward office if there is water logging.

According to experts, the July 2005 deluge was a result of the Mithi River overflowing because garbage had blocked the flow of water.