GCC cracks the whip, collects Rs 9.36 crore in fine in 74 days

CHENNAI: In the last 74 days, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has collected Rs 9.36 crore in fines from residents and commercial establishments for violations in five categories, including healthcode/plastics, conservancy, mosquito breeding, illegal sewage connections and parks. Notably, from October 1 to December 14 (74 days), over 80,000 transactions were made using over 1,000 Point of Sale (POS) machines.

The GCC collected Rs 2.34 crore in fines for plastic-related violations, Rs 5.85 crore for conservancy violations, Rs 1.01 crore for mosquito breeding, Rs 2.65 crore for park-related issues, and Rs 12.35 lakh for illegal connections to SWDs. On Saturday (December 14) alone, the GCC enforcement team collected Rs 1.14 crore, with 15,372 transactions in all zones.

"A total of Rs 2.65 crore was collected for unauthorised pruning and felling of trees. Fines related to mosquito breeding sites across various entities, including small shops, apartments, and construction sites, with a cumulative fine amount of over Rs 55 lakh. For illegal stormwater drain connection, Rs 12.35 lakh was collected, and for the burning of solid waste, Rs 14.52 lakh was collected from commercial, public, and private premises," added the data.

As there is a prevailing ban on single-use plastics, users were fined Rs 100 if they were a small establishment, Rs 1,000 for large ones and Rs 25,000 from manufacturers. From small commercial establishments, Rs 72.20 lakh was collected, and Rs 68.52 lakh from medium commercial establishments since October 1.

During the September council meeting, a resolution was passed to implement revised fines for illegal dumping of garbage and construction and demolition waste (C&D) in public places, on individuals and commercial establishments in the Chennai Corporation limits.

According to GCC data, the officials collected Rs 9.36 crore in fines, the highest stands in the conservancy category with Rs 1.76 crore on C&D waste, followed by commercial shops without bins for Rs 1.69 crore and commercial shops handling waste without waste segregation, Rs 1.05 crore.

It implemented a Rs 5,000 penalty for throwing garbage in public and private places, and littering in vehicles. For the non-segregation of waste, Rs 1,000 was levied on individual households and Rs 5,000 on apartments, group households and bulk waste generators. Similarly, Rs 5,000 was set as the fine amount for unauthorised dumping of C&D waste in public; littering around bins, sewers, canals and waterbodies; burning of solid wastes in private premises, public places and burning wastes collected from commercial places; and handling over of fish, pet birds, and meat wastes without segregation, excluding households. It also set a Rs 2,000 fine for improper disposal of horticulture and wood waste at public places.

Meanwhile, for mosquito breeding, a Rs 100 fine was slapped on individual households, Rs 1,000 for apartments and Rs 5,000 for construction sites.

Under the resolution, Rs 100 was set as a penalty for vendors and establishments working without bins and Rs 2,000 for non-segregation of wastes. Organisers of public events and gatherings were slapped with a Rs 5,000 fine if the location remained uncleaned even after 12 hours of the event.