Mangaluru: A video conference was held under the chairmanship of Dakshina Kannada ZP CEO Narwade Vinayak Karbhari with taluk panchayat executive officers and gram panchayat development officers regarding maintaining cleanliness in rural areas of Dakshina Kannada.It was instructed to identify and impose fines in cases of waste dumping and burning of waste on roads and public areas within the jurisdiction of gram panchayats. “If the fine is not paid, an FIR should be filed at the local police station. Immediate action should be taken against the offenders in each taluk, and a report should be submitted,” the CEO directed.On the ‘Clean Saturday’ cleanliness drive organised on the first and third Saturdays of every month, gram panchayats should clean all road edges within their jurisdiction. For the 63 GPs without a ‘Swachh Sankeerna’, a plan should be prepared for constructing a unit of at least 1,000 sqft using the untied funds of the taluk panchayat and available grants in the gram panchayats, he said.In the first phase, 92 GPs have been identified for waste management, and 48 of them should immediately enter into agreements with waste management agencies. To control the use of banned single-use plastics, inspections and raids should be conducted in GPs as per the already issued circular to regulate the production, supply, storage, sale and distribution of these items, impose fines, and promote the use of alternative materials, raising public awareness. Executive officers of the taluk should set targets for GPs for fine collection and instruct them to impose fines, he added.The meeting was attended by ZP deputy secretary Jayalakshmi Rayakod, planning officer E Jayaram, environmental officer Maheshwari Singh and Swachh Bharat Mission district coordinators.
