Kochi: A total of Rs 66 lakh have been collected as fine from people who were caught dumping garbage in public places in Ernakulam district in the past six months. Of these, fines to the tune of Rs 40 lakh were slapped within the Kochi Corporation limits.
The penalties were imposed strictly as part of the Malinyamukta Nava Keralam campaign aimed at making the state garbage-free by next year.
As many as 1,320 vehicles were seized in six months in connection with illegal dumping of waste. A total of 3,572 cases were also registered.
The strict actions were taken as part of implementing the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The data were presented by District Collector NS K Umesh at the regional review meet chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Bolgatty Palace Convention Centre here on Tuesday.
Detailing the facilities established for waste management, the collector said 1,300 mini material collection facilities have been set up in the district. They include 95 newly set up facilities. There are 119 material collection facilities also. The district also has 15 resource recovery facilities.
The collector informed the meet that of the 750 garbage heaps found in the district, 716 have been removed.
The meet analysed that there should be more focus in setting up toilet waste processing plants. The district requires the capacity to process 600 kilo litre waste a day.
The collector told the meet that the works on establishing a bioCNG plant at Brahmapuram municipal solid waste management facility with the help of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) were on. The project, included in centre's Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, will be completed in nine months, the collector said.
Kochi’s long-pending garbage menace became controversial earlier this year after a massive fire erupted in the Brahmapuram dumping yard exposed the ill-planning and the mismanagement of the facility.
