Piles of construction debris dumped along roadsides and on vacant plots have become an increasingly common sight across Bengaluru, raising concerns over cleanliness, public health and urban planning. To tackle the issue, the Greater Bengaluru Authority has launched a month-long ‘Freedom from Waste’ campaign focused on clearing construction and demolition waste and curbing illegal dumping.
The drive, which will continue through August, targets construction and demolition debris, inert waste, tree branches and other waste lying in public spaces. Officials have identified 1,616 locations across the city with an estimated 22,730 metric tonnes of waste requiring removal.
Speaking to NDTV, Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said the campaign is focused on eliminating both an eyesore and a public health hazard.
“Over a period of time, weeds start growing over the debris, which becomes a source of health hazards because it turns into a nesting ground for mosquitoes, rats and snakes. People also start dumping household garbage over the debris. This spoils the look of Bengaluru. This is the problem we are trying to tackle during August. A separate campaign on household waste will be taken up after this,” he said.
The campaign is being jointly implemented by the five city corporations under the GBA along with Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), BWSSB, BESCOM, BMRCL, Indian Railways, K-RIDE, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), BDA and KIADB.
The government has also warned owners of vacant plots to clear waste from their properties.
“We have requested people to clean their vacant sites because rats and mosquitoes become a nuisance for the neighbourhood. If vacant sites are not cleaned by August 15, the respective City Corporations will remove the waste and recover the cost from the property owners,” Gowda told NDTV.
Officials said violators will face a Rs 25,000 fine for the first offence, while repeat violations can attract penalties ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also issued a stern warning, saying maintaining private properties is as much the responsibility of citizens as keeping public roads clean is the government’s responsibility.
“Cleaning Bengaluru is part of the system and the entire community needs to join hands. Cleaning roads is our duty, cleaning vacant properties is their duty. If they have not constructed houses on their sites even after five years, we will issue notices to take back their property,” he told NDTV.
To support the drive, authorities have deployed 70 tippers to transport waste to designated disposal sites at Yarappanahalli, Marenahalli, Venkatapura, Vittasandra and Kallubalu.
Calling for public participation, Gowda said, “Bengaluru belongs to everybody, so it is everybody’s responsibility to keep it clean. Our call to everyone is: ‘Let’s Just Clean Bengaluru.'”
Meanwhile, Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya also appealed to citizens to support the campaign and take ownership of keeping the city clean.
“Bengaluru, let’s support this initiative and clean up our city. Whenever I travel to any other city in India, Bengaluru’s debris, waste and bad roads pain me. Let’s come together to clean up the city, one road at a time,” he said.
