Giving the newly elected government some breathing room, the Karnataka High Court has allowed it till June 28 to submit a status report on compliance of all court orders on solving Bangalore’s garbage problem.
A Division Bench comprising Justice N. Kumar and Justice B.V. Nagarathna granted a month’s time as it was brought to its notice that the government had just taken over and required time to submit its responses.
The court asked the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to publish on its website reports of the technical and expert committees inviting objections and suggestions from the public.
The Bench asked BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah, who is retiring at the end of the month, to submit a report to the court on the issues that were not covered so far in the court orders, on finding long-lasting solutions to the garbage menace.
The Bench appreciated the manner in which he assisted the court in the last six months.
Strong action
During the hearing, the Bench asked the authorities about the progress made in bringing in amended rules to raise the fines on those littering in public places and failing to adhere to waste segregation norms.
“I have seen with my own eyes that people, all educated, coming in cars or scooters and throwing plastic covers containing garbage on the street corners. They are all white-collared people. So, the earliest the law is put into force, the better. Imposing a mere Rs. 100 or Rs. 200 as fine won’t help. You may have to treat it as an offence and cut off civic amenities,” Mr. Kumar observed orally.
