However, sources in the BMC said around Rs 3.5 lakh in fines have been collected in the last six months, while legal action against repeated offenders has remained virtually nil.
BHUBANESWAR: As the state capital undergoes a major makeover ahead of the Hockey World Cup next month, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has found no solution to the rampant use of single-use plastic, which has turned into a garbage menace.
The civic body, which has been running against time to give the city a new look, has not been able to check the usage of single-use plastic, which is scarring the beautification drive ahead of the quadrennial event.
Almost all major roads and streets, including residential areas in the city, are littered with polythene and single-use plastic items, which make up 70 per cent of the trash generated every day.
Moreover, plastic waste has clogged the Gangua Nullah, GGP canal, and natural stormwater channels here, turning them into mosquito breeding grounds. Many stretches of the NH-16, which has been included in the priority road network for the World Cup beautification project, are also littered with this non-biodegradable plastic waste.
However, the BMC has yet to start any substantial crackdown to discourage vendors, traders, and residents from using single-use plastic items, in spite of the fact that the World Cup is just three weeks away. Acting on the single-use plastic ban order in the state in July, the BMC framed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to strongly enforce the rule.
The SOP provided for fines ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 50,000 against violators flouting the new norms. It also provided for necessary legal action and criminal proceedings against offenders. However, sources in the BMC said around Rs 3.5 lakh fines have been collected in the last six months, while legal action against repeated offenders has remained virtually nil.
The curb on single-use plastic seems to have helped address half of the city’s waste management problems, but BMC’s failure to implement the ban has started to raise questions.BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said a strong enforcement drive will start soon to crack down on the violators.
“We have given sufficient time to awareness programmes. Traders and vendors found violating the norms will now be fined Rs 5,000,” he said, adding that the crackdown will also be launched on illegal supplies of banned items in the city.
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