Indiscriminate dumping of solid waste and construction debris on vacant plots continues in the residential areas despite repeated appeals by municipal authorities to owners of unused land to keep their premises clean.
The owners of vacant plots continue to flout the directives of civic bodies giving room for the public to dump waste and debris. Lack of proper maintenance of such unused lands leads to growth of shrubs which gradually become a haven for snakes, say residents.
Pasumai Makkal Nalavazhu Sangam president K. R. Ravichandran said people were dumping waste and debris on vacant plots unmindful of the damage it caused to the surrounding areas. The owners should ideally keep the premises clean and fence the property. Providing good fencing for the site would be in the best interest of the property owner also, he said.
“People also have to be blamed for dumping waste indiscriminately. Now in most of the streets in the town, dustbins are kept for people to drop the waste. Even if the bins are not outside the house, people can always walk to the street corner to dump household waste. Even if a vacant plot is there in the locality, it does not mean we can use the space as a dumpyard, “ said Sowmiya of Krishna Nagar.
But the responsibility to maintain the premises free of thick vegetation, entirely lies with the owner of the property. In Krishna Nagar and Rainbow Nagar area, one of the reasons for flooding is the presence of a large number of vacant plots, she said.
“When new houses get constructed, the waste is dumped on nearby vacant plots and the debris never gets cleared.. This is one of the main reasons for the spread of vector-borne diseases since water gets trapped in the waste and mosquitoes multiply, “ said Raghu Menon of Alliance for Good Governance and a resident of Navarkulam. Municipalities used to conduct special drives before the monsoon to inspect empty plots. But now, there is laxity on the part of the civic authorities to keep a check on proper maintenance of vacant plots, he said.
Commissioner of Oulgaret Municipality Sureshraj said it was an issue confronting both the municipalities. The Oulgaret municipality has issued notices to owners of 42 vacant plots. They have been directed to keep their premises clean and fenced. Tracing the owners of the property was one of the biggest problems in dealing with the issue. In many cases, the owners are living abroad or outside the Union Territory for a long time, and are seldom in touch with what is happening with their properties here, he said.
“We are appealing to the residents to inform us about vacant plots in their locality with proper details so that it will be easy for us to trace the owner from revenue records,“ said the Commissioner.
Puducherry Municipality Commissioner S. Sivakumar said the presence of vacant plots under its limit are more. “’In the last one year, we have served notices demanding upkeep of the vacant plots to around 120 persons. Identifying owners is a major issue in our jurisdiction also,” he said.
