COIMBATORE: In order to stop residents from dumping waste at public places, a village panchayat in the district has announced that those who litter with be imposed a fine of Rs 1,000.
Further, Rs 500 reward has been announced to those who complain, with appropriate photo and video proof, against people dumping waste at open places.
The initiative has been taken by Muthukavundanpudur village panchayat which comes under Sulur Panchayat unit in Coimbatore.
While the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) is struggling to stop people from littering at public spots, a small village panchayat aims to achieve cleanliness with its simple 'fine and reward' announcement.
"If someone provides us with photo or video proof of residents dumping waste, the sanitation team will impose a fine of Rs 1,000 on them. Half of the fine amount will then be given as reward to the informer. While the panchayat can generates income through this initiative, it also encourages the public not to dump waste at open spaces," said Panchayat Secretary S Vellingiri.
Vellingiri said that they have not received any complaints from the public so far.
The panchayat consists of five villages - Anna Nagar, Muthalipalayam, Kurumbapalayam, Muthukavundanpudur and Kaliyapuram. Around 5,000 people live there. Sources said that more than two tonnes of waste used to be collected every day and most of them were collected from open spaces and those were dumped in a common yard.
"After electing a president to the panchayat, the 'fine and reward' initiative was announced by the panchayat administration. We have placed hoardings about it at places where people usually dump waste. Soon after the announcement was made, people were hesitant to dump waste at open places fearing that somebody might take a photo or video of them in action. Now, the entire village panchayat has become clean," K Gobi, a resident of Muthukavundanpudur, said.
The panchayat has also intensified door-to-door waste collection now, state sources.