Pune: PCMC Environment Department Cracks Down on Riverbank Garbage Dumping, Levies Heavy Fines

Pimpri Chinchwad, 29th March 2024: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) Environment Department has cracked down on vehicles and drivers found dumping garbage along the river banks and into the rivers flowing through various parts of Pimpri Chinchwad city. Following complaints regarding waste dumping along the Mula, Pavana, and Indrayani rivers, the PCMC’s environment department conducted direct inspections, set up traps, and took action against the offending vehicles and drivers.

Various types of vehicles including trucks, tractors, dumpers, tempos, and mixer trains of the RMC plant were reportedly dumping garbage on the river banks daily across different parts of the city. During the inspections, drivers identified as Shiva Rathod, Umesh Barne, Vedant Desai, R.D.Waghole, Tejas Ukke, Prakash Chaudhary, and Kantilal Khiru Pawar were apprehended, and fines totalling approximately Rs 1 lakh 15 thousand were levied against them.

The initiative, conducted under the guidance of PCMC Commissioner and Administrator Shekhar Singh, and with the leadership of Sanjay Kulkarni, Joint City Engineer of the Environment Department, involved the participation of health inspector Amol Gorkhe along with Gorakshnath Karpe, Swapnil Patil, Pushparaj Bhagwat, Pradeep Mahale, Jagannath Kate, Babasaheb Dhokle, and a team from the Maharashtra Security Force, MESCO officers.

The action was prompted by concerns over the narrowing of riverbeds and the pollution of rivers due to waste dumping. PCMC has announced plans to take immediate legal action against those found filling the riverbeds, and separate teams have been deployed by the environment department to enforce these measures. Landowners, vehicle owners, and drivers caught dumping waste into the rivers are warned of punitive action, including confiscation of vehicles, as emphasized by PCMC’s environmental engineering department.