- NET Web Desk
The Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) has been ordered to impose fines on people who throw garbage on the street or pollute the environment with solid waste.
According to the Itanagar permanent bench of the Gauhati High Court (HC), the ruling has been implemented under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
Addressing the mediapersons on Friday, the IMC Mayor – Tame Phassang asserted that the court made the decision after hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Takam Diring against “unplanned solid waste disposal” within the IMC’s jurisdictional areas.
“Furthermore, the court has asked the IMC to include provisions in municipal bye-laws and any other regulation for imposing fines on people detected throwing garbage on the road and causing solid waste pollution in the city,” – Phassang stated.
He further added that a combined meeting of the heads of the town planning department and urban local bodies, the DCs of Papum Pare and the ICR, and the IMC was conducted in response to the court’s mandate for the proper implementation of the SWM Rule, 2016.
“We applaud activist Diring’s PIL, which requires IMC to implement the Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016. However, we seek equitable engagement from the people in keeping the city clean. The battle against rubbish is ongoing; only public cooperation can resolve the problem,” the mayor stated.
Expressing concern over solid trash across few rural areas adjacent to the capital region, Phassang stated that the town planning department will issue an order shortly allowing the IMC to function in those places.
He urged panchayat leaders to raise sanitation awareness in their own areas and work with the IMC to make the capital clean and green.
