Ahmedabad’s municipal corporation has approved new solid-waste management penalties, including fines of up to ₹1 lakh for commercial and institutional units that fail to process wet waste on site, according to a report by Gujarat Samachar. The rules also prescribe penalties for not separating waste into four categories and for dumping waste in public places.
The Health and Solid Waste Management Committee approved the provisions at a municipal meeting. Under the new system, dry waste, wet waste, sanitary waste and hazardous waste must be handed over separately. Residential and commercial units that provide mixed waste without segregation may face fines of up to ₹3,750. In cases of serious negligence, the penalty may be increased to three times the normal amount.
The most significant provision concerns bulk waste generators producing more than 100 kilograms of waste a day. Housing societies, restaurants, malls, offices and other such establishments will be required to process wet waste on site. The reported penalty for housing societies that fail to do so ranges from ₹5,000 to ₹20,000. Commercial establishments and government or private institutions may face fines ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh.
The rules also target dumping in public spaces. Throwing waste on roads, in rivers, lakes or canals, or discarding it from a moving vehicle, may attract a fine of up to ₹12,500. Organisers of public meetings, processions and similar events may be fined ₹5,000 if they do not clean the site after the programme.
The municipal provisions come about six months after directions from the Supreme Court, as described in the report. Their implementation places new compliance responsibilities on bulk waste generators, while extending penalties to households and businesses that fail to segregate waste before collection.
The rules are significant because they assign responsibility at multiple points in Ahmedabad’s waste system: residents and commercial units must segregate waste, bulk generators must process wet waste, event organisers must restore public sites, and individuals may be penalised for dumping waste in public areas. The reported provisions, however, do not detail a separate penalty framework for municipal officials or employees whose lapses could affect door-to-door collection, street cleaning or the handling of open dumping sites.
The report raises that accountability question in the context of the new enforcement regime, pointing to possible administrative negligence in regular cleaning, door-to-door collection and the formation of waste heaps on vacant plots. The municipal committee’s approved rules now provide the stated penalty structure for waste generators, residents, businesses and event organisers.
