GCC digitises spot fine for solid waste management

CHENNAI: Following the penalty revision for solid waste management in the city, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has planned to digitalise spot penalties.

GCC Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran said that through this initiative, the civic body would maintain data on the amount imposed and steps would be taken accordingly to improve waste management.

“Previously, officials were using the bill book, which was not transparent, as no data was maintained. There was no real time data found, so we’ve initiated this method to impose a spot fine against the individual. Initially, 500 machines have arrived and the configuration process is ongoing. It’s expected to go live in a couple of days,” he explained.

Recently, the Corporation council had revised the penalty for dumping garbage and also for failure in segregating waste before handing it over to the cleanliness workers. Those who dump waste in public and private properties will have to pay a penalty of Rs 5,000, a multi-fold increase from Rs 500. Similarly, the penalty for those who burn waste at both private and public places has been revised to Rs 5,000 from Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 respectively.

Additionally, to prevent people from illegal dumping of construction and demolition waste at public places, the GCC levies fines ranging from Rs 2,000-5,000 per tonne. “If there is no door-to-door waste collection in the residential areas, we’ll address it immediately. And, it does not mean the public can dump waste on the road. They can throw it in the bin, which will be removed by the workers. By imposing a digital spot fine, it’d motivate the public to dump waste in the bin or hand it over to the workers,” added the commissioner.