GUWAHATI: Denizens will have to think twice before littering a public place from now on.
The civic authorities have warned that they will penalize people even for spitting on footpaths, streets or public places.
In Assam, chewing areca nut (tamul) with betel leaf is common. What is also common are red stains at virtually all public places as people spit after chewing “tamul”.
The public behaviour vis-à-vis cleanliness will be monitored by six flying squads of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC). The squads, each of them headed by an engineer, will also extend services during emergency situations such as garbage cleaning, clearing of blocked drains and other sanitation-related services.
“The squads will penalize city dwellers found spitting on roads, footpaths or any other public places. They will penalize people also for using plastics or any kind of plastic materials which are banned,” GMC Commissioner, Debeswar Malakar, told this newspaper.
He said the squads would seize building materials or penalize people found stacking building materials on footpaths or streets.
“If anyone is found littering public places, the squads will take action against the defaulters as per the provision of law. The minimum penalty for littering footpaths, streets or public places is Rs.100. As regards the stacking of construction materials on roads or pavements, the minimum penalty will be Rs.1,000,” Malakar said.
He said in the second phase, the defaulters might be forced to clean up a place littered by them.
“A few years ago in Kerala, the violators of road traffic rules were forced to give lessons on traffic rules to other such violators. In the same manner in the second phase of our campaign, we might make the defaulters to clean up rubbish they had thrown at a street or a public place,” he added.