Bengaluru Just Made It Mandatory To Segregate Your Garbage. Will Fine You Upto Rs 25,000 If You Don't

Not segregating garbage at source will attract stiff fines from September 1, as will civic violations such as littering, spitting and urinating in public places, with BBMP preparing to enforce a stringent penalty regime.

Unveiling a civic body initiative, Bengaluru¡¯s Solid Waste Management Road Map and Vision, mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun announced enhanced fines of between ?200 and ?25,000 ¡ª the steepest for illegal disposal of construction waste.

To enforce the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, all assistant executive engineers at the ward level, medical officers, health and senior health inspectors will be empowered to levy penalties, she said, adding that the BBMP would procure machines to levy spot fines.

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¡°Through hefty penalties and streamlining of waste management processes, we want to achieve a 90% segregation level, ensure that only 15% of the total waste is dumped in landfills, reduce black spots and adopt zero tolerance for plastic use,¡± the mayor said. The aim, she said, was or Bengaluru to grab the top spot in Swachh Survekshan 2020.

Fivefold hike in fines

Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad said BBMP had increased penalties by up to five times to ensure that the city achieves high compliance in segregation of waste at source. ¡°When the penalties are high, people tend to be more careful about waste management,¡± he said. ¡°We want people to spend money on better things than paying fines.¡±

Under the waste management plan, for which BBMP is finalising tenders, there will be no more collection of mixed waste. ¡°Wet waste and sanitary waste will be collected from door to door by a daily basis in each of the 198 wards,¡± Prasad said. ¡°Dry waste will be collected primarily by waste pickers and self-help groups. We will take strict action against waste generators and waste collectors in case of any violation.¡±

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Bengaluru generates around 5,700 tonnes of waste every day, of which 64% is wet waste and 28% is dry waste; the rest is hazardous and inert waste. Households and small commercial establishments account for 74% of the total waste.

Penalising contractors

On the persistent problem of contracted waste collectors themselves mixing waste that residents have segregated, Prasad said such contractors would be fined.

Admitting that there was need for better handling of dry waste, the commissioner said BBMP needs to tighten operations at its collection centres in 144 wards. ¡°We will engage waste pickers and self-help groups to collect dry waste from households and manage the centres,¡± he added.

The dry waste collection centres will also facilitate sale of compost produced by households to encourage waste composting at source.

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Refuse-derived fuel generated by waste is now transported to cement factories. ¡°It will soon be sent to a KPCL power plant coming up in Bidadi,¡± an official said.

It is ambitious indeed for BBMP to target the top spot in Swachh Survekshan 2020, a year after Bengaluru ranked 194th in the survey. A fivefold increase in fines for failing to segregate garbage and other civic violations would also appear justifiable in the face of adamant lack of compliance by citizens.