Chennai Corporation to install AI-powered cameras at garbage hotspots

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation will install AI-enabled CCTV cameras to monitor garbage hotspots to ensure that those dumping waste in public places are identified and action is taken to collect fine.

This was announced by Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran. These AI-enabled CCTV cameras will monitor 'garbage vulnerable points' (hotspots), and will be linked with the Integrated Command and Control Centre at the Ripon Building, he added.

Meanwhile, the Chennai Corporation has already levied Rs 17.97 lakh in spot fine for 480 cases of garbage dumping.

Of the 15 zones, the maximum fine was collected from Kodambakkam (Zone 10) - Rs 2,25,500, while it was Rs 2,14,400 in Royapuram (Zone 5).

Among the three regions, the maximum spot fine was collected from North (Rs 8,02,400) that comprises Zones 1-5, followed by Rs 5,44,600 from central region (Zones 6-10), and Rs 4,49,800 from south (Zones 11-15).

The spot fines are collected digitally using point-of-sale devices – the machines that are used in shops to collect payments using cards or UPI.

In its last council meet, the Chennai Corporation revised the penalty for dumping garbage and also for failure to segregate waste before handing it over to the cleanliness workers. The penalty for dumping waste was increased 10-fold to Rs 5,000 from the earlier Rs 500, while those who burn waste in both private and public places was revised to Rs 5,000 from Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, respectively.