The solid waste department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has on December 17 published its action plan on its website regarding open burning of waste in Pune, as per the order of the Western Region Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The document details the PMC’s action on old waste incinerators, increase in fines for open waste burning, number of complaints and fines received, and monitoring of flying squad fleet for solid waste incinerators.
NGT Order (Original Application No. 34 (WZ) of 2024) dated May 29 “The Solid Waste Management Department of the Pune Municipal Corporation-Respondent No. 3 shall review the waste incineration measures on a monthly basis, and take any action. Taken, PMC’s for public purposes Will be posted on the website.
However, this action plan of the solid waste management department is the only document uploaded by the PMC in compliance with this order since May.
Earlier, activist group Pune Air Action Hub criticized the PMC for not publishing monthly reports on its website. Hub member Pushkar Kulkarni said last month, “The recent NGT decision mandated PMC to put monthly reports on open waste burning cases and measures on its website. Even after 6 months, this has not been done.”
Information about mobile squads that respond in time to open waste burning complaints is also not readily available. It is often found burning in certain locations during the evening and at night hence the need for an effective night time alert and response system.”
What does the action plan say?
The document said a total of 44 complaints related to open burning were registered between June and December 2024 through an app-based online platform and telephone calls. In response, the PMC has fined 220,000 to the open burners.
PMC has increased the fee for open waste burning tenfold from Rs 500 to Rs 5000. Eight flying squads run by the corporation keep vigil in the city to control vehicular open burning, enforce plastic ban and address other solid waste management (SWM) rule violations.
Statistics of old waste incinerators in the city were also shared in the document. PMC claims that 719 out of 928 chronic spots in the city have been cleaned at the beginning of the year. 230 of the vacated places have been beautified. Hadapsar-Mundhwa region has the highest number of old spots (44 remaining vacant) and only one old spot left in Kothrud-Bavadhan region, the document said.
Why should you buy our membership?
You want to be the smartest in the room.
You want access to our award-winning journalism.
You don’t want to be confused and misinformed.
Choose your subscription package
Click here to join Express Pune Whatsapp Channel And get a curated list of our stories