Gurgaon: MCG’s crackdown is overwhelmingly focused on plastic violations.Of the 7,763 challans issued by MCG, 4,886 — nearly 63% — were for the use of banned polythene, making plastic violations by far the largest category of enforcement even as illegal dumping of garbage and construction waste remain among the city’s biggest civic complaints.In contrast, only 189 challans, or 2.4% of the total, were issued for littering and non-bulk waste dumping, the latest enforcement data from Jan to July 17 shows.Despite illegal dumping of garbage being one of the most frequent civic complaints in the city, data shows that bulk waste dumping attracted just nine challans, accounting for barely 0.1% of the total 7,763 challans issued.Moreover, 301 challans were issued for illegal disposal of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. The numbers stand out because illegal dumping of municipal waste, roadside garbage piles and C&D debris are among the most common civic complaints raised by residents across the city. However, these categories combined account for only a small fraction of the corporation’s enforcement action.The second-largest category of challans was for bins being unavailable or overflowing, with 1,630 cases, accounting for 21% of the total. Open defecation attracted 437 challans, while uncovered transportation of construction material resulted in 92 challans.An MCG sanitation department official, requesting anonymity, told TOI, “We have been given a target to impose around 250 penalties daily distributed across eight zones. In compliance with the orders, we are imposing challans.”Residents said that the data suggests that although MCG has maintained an extensive enforcement drive, its focus has remained concentrated on plastic-related violations, leaving questions over whether enough attention is being directed towards offences that have the greatest visible impact on the city’s cleanliness.Lalit Suraj Bhola, a resident of Sector 9A, said, “The distribution of challans raises questions about enforcement priorities. While the use of banned plastic dominates MCG’s crackdown, violations directly linked to indiscriminate dumping of garbage and construction debris — issues that frequently trigger complaints from residents and contribute to overflowing dumping points across the city — constitute a relatively small share of the total action.”The data also shows limited enforcement against institutional offenders. MCG issued only three challans to bulk waste generators (BWGs) and 10 challans for septage-related violations, despite both categories being governed by specific provisions under the Solid Waste Management Rules.Overall, the corporation recovered 92.1% of the challans issued and 83.8% of the total penalty amount imposed, indicating that enforcement action has largely translated into collections.The civic body imposed penalties amounting to Rs 1.5 crore across various categories of sanitation and environmental violations. Of this, Rs 1.2 crore was recovered, while Rs 24.9 lakh, which is around 16.2% of the total amount imposed, remains pending recovery.
