BANGALORE: Any person convicted for five times for failing to segregate dry and wet waste at households would be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or fine of Rs 1,000 or both.
The state government on Thursday tabled the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2013, to impose penalty for littering, spitting, urinating, open defecating, or committing other acts of nuisance on road, bus station, railway station, street, playground, park and other premises of public utility.
Individuals failing to segregate waste will be punished with a penalty of Rs 100 for the first offence and Rs 500 for repeating the same offence. Dumping of building waste will invite penalty of Rs 1,000 for the first offence and Rs 5,000 rupees for subsequent offences.
The Bill stated that the solid waste generated by all city corporations of the state especially in BBMP is very high. “These solid wastes has to be disposed systematically through scientific manner and as per the guidelines prescribed in Solid Wastes (Handling and Management) Rules, 2000 by the Central government,” it said.
The amendment bill also proposes fining those who fail to segregate other waste, irregularly deposit rubbish or filth or any solid waste, allow filth to flow in streets, deposit carcasses of animals or filth in proper place and dump building waste irregularly.
Removal of unauthorized cable including optical fibre cables laid under, over, along, the across, in or upon the streets or property has now been added as part of obligatory functions of the city corporations, in addition to the removal of obstructions and projections in or upon streets, bridges and other public places that figures in the 1976 act.
Recently, several public interest litigation writ petitions have been filed before the High Court of Karnataka complaining that the solid wastes generated by the BBMP areas not disposed scientifically and as per the rules made by the Centre. The HC in September last year gave directions for imposition of fines of households which are failing to segregate into dry and wet garbage.
