TIRUCHY: The ongoing distribution of QR codes to residential and commercial buildings, while expected to improve garbage collection and keep a check on littering, could take at least a year to be fully implemented. With the unabated littering hampering waste management efforts, the city corporation has been forced to change tact.
According to officials, the sanitation team segregating the waste would look for material that will help them identify the offenders. "We'll look for bills or things that will help us identify such people, and pass them on to the respective zonal officer. Recently, a commercial firm had dumped its office waste in a public space. We identified them through the papers and other material, and fined them Rs 5,000," said a sanitation officer.
Senior officials said that the corporation would impose fines ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 on those dumping waste in public places. Sources said the corporation could make roughly Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 per month in a single zone through this method.
"Not just bills, we will use several ways to spot wrongdoers, like the nature of the waste and where it's been dumped. We will also get in touch with residents to identify those dumping waste. All of these may not completely stop littering, but once we start imposing fines, it will reduce littering. This is only a temporary measure until we finish the QR code distribution, after which we will be able to identify more offenders," a senior corporation official said.
Meanwhile, residents opined that the corporation should also consider imposing heavy fines on repeat offenders.
"The corporation should consider imposing heavy fines if a merchant or resident keeps repeatedly dumping waste. Otherwise, the litterers may continue dumping waste in public places," said K Dhanya, teacher and resident of Puthur.