KOLKATA: In an effort to keep city streets free of garbage, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is planning to set up a mobile sanitation court that will be doing the rounds and imposing littering fines on the spot. The mobile court will consist of a senior civic official, inspectors and clerical staffers.
The court will reserve the right to book an errant person for littering on the streets and impose a fine of Rs 500 on the spot. A second-time conviction will invite a penalty of Rs 700 and for subsequent offences, an offender will need to pay Rs 1,000. In case an individual or a group of residents are caught littering on the streets and yet refuse to pay, the mobile court will have the right to send them to prison. The court will conduct surprise checks in areas where the complaints of littering have become rampant.
At present, a KMC solid waste management official is entrusted to locate areas plagued by littering and impose fines on errant persons. However, often the civic official on duty fails to book a person for want of a witness. According to KMC rules, a civic inspector or an official needs to go by the statement of a witness before a fine is imposed on an errant person.
“We want to plug this loophole. So we will set up a mobile court is necessary to teach a lesson to those who regularly litter the streets without paying any heed to the protests from fellow citizens,” said a KMC solid waste management department official. According to Debabrata Majumdar, the mayor-in-council member overseeing the KMC solid waste management department, setting up a mobile sanitation court could be effective to prevent the practice. “We need to get tough with litterbugs. Setting up a sanitation court will be an effective tool to send a strong message to litterbugs across the city,” Majumdar said.
The need for setting up such a mobile court was discussed after complaints of littering started pouring in at the civic headquarters. Mayor Firhad Hakim on several occasions asked the civic officials to visit neighbourhoods that often stay littered despite collection of garbage in the morning.
Apart from the central business district that include Burrabazar and several north Kolkata neighbourhoods, even some of the upmarket areas like Ballygunge, Golf Green and Lake Gardens often get littered, said a civic official. “We have discussed the possibility of setting up a mobile sanitation court with the civic brass and received a go-ahead,” said a KMC official.
