Tiruchi Corporation has deployed Point of Sale (PoS) devices in the Ponmalai zone on a pilot basis to levy and collect spot fine from offenders who flout the plastic ban and dump waste in public places.
Around 20 sanitary officials in the Ponmalai zone have been equipped with the machines in the first phase. The devices are equipped to produce data on penalty collections for tracking the enforcement against littering.
According to Corporation Commissioner R. Vaithinathan, the drive is primarily aimed to prevent the circulation of banned plastic products and to reduce littering on public spaces and roads. “The PoS devices will be given to sanitary officials, inspectors and supervisors .The initiative, which started as a pilot project, would be soon expanded to other zones,” he said.
According to officials, offences including dumping waste in public places, failing to segregate household waste, disposing of plastic waste on roads, and using single-use plastics will be penalised on spot with the devices.
The officials were trained to operate the machines by a technical team. “Sanitary officials can levy penalties starting at ₹200 according to the offence, and the data on penalties would be made public,” a senior official said.
Earlier, the civic body had issued a warning to commercial establishments and the public to refrain from using single-use plastic items with effect from July 1. However, with no enforcement drive, the circulation of banned items remained unabated.
Further, to monitor littering, the civic body is planning to install CCTV cameras at multiple locations. “We have instructed sanitary supervisors to notify us about major littering sites and ensure that CCTV cameras are installed there at the earliest,” he added.
“Public must refrain from engaging in unhygienic activities, and this move will undoubtedly induce fear among the offenders,” said R. Thangavelu, a city resident.
