Littering can land you in jail, actually

If you thought carelessly throwing that emptied bag of chips or a beer bottle on the road was just a naughty transgression, read the next few sentences with extra care. In a first for Chandigarh, a local court has convicted and fined five persons for littering the streets under sections of the Indian penal Code (IPC).

The orders came after the municipal corporation moved challans issued to these people to the court of the chief judicial magistrate. The MC has, in fact, issued challans to 525 residents, of which 425 have been moved to court. The five convicted as per the orders issued last week are Salim Ahmed of Manimajra, BL Ludhra of Sector 15, Salahuddin Khan of Sector 9, Raju of Sector 17 and Raman of Sector 21. They have been imposed a fine of Rs 500, to which they agreed.

Arvind Moudgil, standing counsel for the MC said, courts are taking very serious note of violations" The conviction proves that." The convicts were prosecuted under section 65, 66 and 67 (imprisonment for non-payment of fine up to six months) of the IPC, read with the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Sanitation and Public Health) Bylaws 1999, he said.

MC joint commissioner Rajeev Gupta said, "We will not tolerate littering at all. Sanitation bylaws state that it is the responsibility of all residents to ensure their garbage is disposed of properly. Even if a resident has employed somebody else to dump the garbage or even malba (construction waste), it is his/her duty to ensure that it is dumped properly." The complaints against the eventually-convicted men were filed under the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, as extended to the UT, he said.

The MC has been moving on the sanitation front, with mayor Subhash Chawla starting a drive from Sector 2 in the month of March to challan people violating the health norms.

Caught throwing
*Salim Ahmed of Manimajra was challaned on February 12 for accumulation of water near his shop at Motor market in Manimajra
*BL Ludhra of Sector 15 was challaned on January 22 for accumulation of water near his house
*Salahuddin Khan of Sector 9 was challaned on February 21 for accumulation of water near his shop
*Raju was challaned on January 31 for throwing garbage near his tea stall in Sector 17
*Raman was challaned on January 30 for throwing malba near his house in Sector 21