BHUBANESWAR: In an overdrive to maintain the beauty of capital city and keep its pollution level under check during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in January, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has urged all citizens and households to keep their surroundings clean.
It has also warned of imposing stiff penalties on those violating sanitation norms and burning waste in the open. People and establishments have also been urged not to burn garbage or other waste in the open as there is a penal provision of Rs 10,000 against such activity, a BMC official said.
“The civic body has intensified its drive to keep the roads and streets clean. Accordingly, the citizens have been asked to cooperate. However, those not following the norms and dumping waste at random places will be penalised during enforcement,” said a senior official.
As per the BMC SOP, common residential units violating the plastic ban order can be imposed a fine in the range of Rs 200 and Rs 1,000 in the first three instances. The fine amount for street vendors, fast-food centres, ice-cream and juice carts is in the range of Rs 500 to Rs 2,000.
BMC also has made a provision of fine up to Rs 5,000 against vendors for not keeping two dustbins and dumping waste along the road. Enforcement in this regard will be intensified in the coming days, the official said. Sources said, Team Shine (Sanitation and Hygiene Inspection for a Neat Environment), the enforcement wing of BMC,will be mobilised for the enforcement as it has helped the civic body in the past checking violations.
A crackdown has also been launched against the street vendors for not following the food safety and hygiene standards and fine of Rs 8,000 has been collected in this regard.