In view of the violations of Solid Waste Management rules, a total of 124 Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs) will pay a recovery challan (RC) amounting to Rs 21.56 lakh to the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD). The corporation had initially issued notices to these establishments last month most of which include apartment buildings and housing societies for not disposing of their bulk waste as per the rules and not responding to the health section regarding their disposal plan despite multiple attempts, said the chief municipal health officer Dr Avinash Khanna. He said that MCD issued notices to 116 BWGs, most of which include apartment buildings, housing societies and some eateries, stating that they must approach the corporation with their plan to dispose of the bulk waste generated in their respective premises within the stipulated time and submit a fine of Rs 10,000.
"We had also warned via notices that if they will not comply with rules, MCD will take action legal action against them. Still, many of these establishments did not take these warnings seriously but the corporation approached the collectorate which will now collect RC from such establishments," said Khanna. He said that the corporation has also imposed a penalty of Rs one lakh each on eight housing societies for not disposing of their bulk waste through door to door garbage collection vehicles.
They had allegedly refused to dispose of their waste through MCD’s vehicles as they prefer private rickshaws for waste disposal. Khanna said that since RC is collected by the Collectorate office, they also recover 10 per cent of the challan from offenders as collection fees as per the rules. "Due to this, a person who was asked to submit a fine of Rs 10,000 or Rs one lakh to MCD will now have to submit a total of Rs 11,000 and Rs 1.10 lakh," said Khanna. He also said that MCD had also imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on Clement Town Cantonment Board for allegedly dumping garbage illegally in its garbage transfer station at Kargi Chowk in September last year which will also be collected as RC in addition to Rs 20,000. Besides this, the corporation had also imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on two residential societies in Sahastradhara Road who were allegedly disposing of their sewer waste on drains and will now have to pay it as RC too with extra charges. He said that if these establishments fail to pay RC by May 31, authorities can even arrest them as per the protocols. He said that MCD has started sending notices to other BWGs and violators too who do not take the importance of maintaining sanitation in the city seriously.
