COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) on Wednesday imposed penalties totalling Rs 15 lakh on three agencies for violations related to solid waste management and improper restoration of roads following civic works in the East Zone.
CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran ordered a fine of Rs 5 lakh on a private contractor after large quantities of garbage were found dumped along roadsides in the Sowripalayam area. The Commissioner personally inspected the locality, falling under Ward 53 of the East Zone, following complaints about indiscriminate waste disposal near GV Residency.
During the inspection, the Commissioner noted that roadside dumping continued to pose a serious challenge despite the Corporation's efforts to ensure door-to-door collection and segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste across all 100 wards.
He directed officials to immediately clear the accumulated waste and intensify awareness campaigns among residents to discourage illegal dumping. He also instructed officials to strengthen surveillance by installing and monitoring CCTV cameras at vulnerable locations and to strictly penalise offenders to prevent recurrence.
In a separate action, the Commissioner imposed another Rs 5 lakh fine on Suez, the agency implementing the 24x7 drinking water supply project, for failing to properly restore roads in Masakalipalayam after completing underground pipeline installation works. The poor condition of the road surface following the completion of the work drew sharp criticism during the inspection.
Earlier in the day, the Commissioner also inspected the attendance registers at the sanitary workers' inspector office in Sowripalayam (Ward 51) to review workforce deployment and supervision in the East Zone.
Apart from that, the Commissioner also imposed of `5 lakh against a broadband network company which had dug the road for installing underground cables at Vilankurichi-Cheran Managar Road in Ward 22 of the city and left it unattended without properly closing the pit and restoring the road.
Senior officials, including City Health Officer Dr Mohan, Assistant City Health Officer Dr Bhoopathy, Assistant Commissioner Ramkumar, and other Corporation officials, accompanied the Commissioner during the inspections. The civic body reiterated that strict enforcement measures would continue across all zones to ensure cleanliness, accountability of contractors, and timely restoration of public infrastructure.