Rs 25,000 penalty for burning waste in open

The Navhind Times , Sunday, December 25, 2016
Correspondent :
PANAJI: The local bodies and environment protection agencies in the state will now have to keep a check on the waste being dumped along roads and impose a fine of Rs 25,000 against people, who are found burning waste in the open.

This direction comes from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) following the green panel’s decision asking the authorities to collect, transport and dispose waste in accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.

The principal bench of the NGT on Thursday imposed a complete ban on the burning of waste in open places across the country and announced a fine of Rs 25,000 on each incident of bulk waste burning and Rs 5,000 for simple burning of the waste. The NGT’s detailed 89-page judgment of a four-member bench, headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar, was passed while hearing the petition of a Bengaluru-based veteran environment conservationist Almitra Patel, who had sought directions on effective management of solid waste across the country. The NGT order has also asked all state governments and Union territories to prepare an action plan within a month so as to enforce the new MSW (municipal solid waste) Rules, 2016.

Vehicle emissions and burning of waste in the open are the main causes of air pollution in Panaji. As a result, PM (particulate matter) 2.5 has exceeded three times in the last two years, according to ambient air quality data of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB).

Today, the garbage dumped by people along roads and fields is a source of major irritation to both, the residents and motorists. The subsequent non-stop burning of trash leaves behind a layer of soot on houses and residents, especially senior citizens complain of severe air pollution.

Though Goa has notified an anti-littering law, the Goa Non-biodegradable Garbage (Control) (Third Amendment) Act, 2014, with a provision of fine uptoRs 25,000, unfortunately, neither the panchayats and the environment department have any records on the fines collected nor have any local bodies taken any initiative to stop the rampant dumping of waste within their jurisdiction.

The new announcement made by NGT is an attempt to reduce pollution generated out of burning of municipal solid waste, which is one of the most serious pollutants in the country. The air quality in the state has been deteriorating alarmingly, as pollution levels have spiked as much as two times higher than the normal arguably in Vasco and Panaji, which have become the most polluted spots in the state followed by Margao and Mapusa.

The state, on a daily basis, generates about 400-450 tonnes of solid and wet waste of which 200 tonnes comprises of solid waste. The total waste generated comes to 1.44 lakh tonnes in a year. Currently, there is no separation of waste happening at the individual level, which can be understood from the poor response to the state-run door-to-door garbage collection scheme. Out of the 190 panchayats, only 45 per cent have started the door-to-door system of garbage collection.

Village panchayats are provided with financial support to make Goa plastic-free under the scheme, The Goa Panchayat (Grants to Tackle Garbage Menace) Scheme, 2014, and it is being implemented in the villages.

The new rules stipulate zero tolerance for throwing, burning or burying of the generated solid waste onto streets, in open public spaces outside the waste generator’s premises or in drains or water bodies. The new rules have mandated the source segregation of waste in order to channelise the waste to wealth by recovery, reuse and recycling. Waste generators would have to now segregate waste into three streams – biodegradables, dry (plastic, paper, metal, wood, etc) and domestic hazardous waste (diapers, napkins, mosquito repellants, cleaning agents etc.) before handing it over to the collector.

 
SOURCE : http://www.navhindtimes.in/rs-25000-penalty-for-burning-waste-in-open/
 


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