Rs 8-crore fine slapped on pvt firm for poor door-to-door garbage collection in Panipat

Taking a stringent note on the poor lifting and door-to-door collection of garbage by a private company, JBM, Environment Management Pvt Ltd, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has imposed Rs 8 crore fine on it. The fine has been imposed on the company after conducting a micro-level survey in all wards of the MC area.

Apart from imposing a fine, the MC served a notice to the JBM for increasing the number of vehicles for door-to-door collection of garbage.

Notably, the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) Department had allotted the tender for garbage lifting and door-to-door collection in the municipal areas of the Panipat MC, Sonepat MC, Samalkha Municipal Committee and Gannaur to JBM, Environment Management Pvt Ltd company, in 2018 after making two clusters and it had started work in Panipat in February 2018.

The company had to collect garbage door to door and after collecting the garbage had to shift the waste to the energy plant at Tajpur in the Murthal area of Sonepat district.

The MC officials carried out a special inspection of garbage lifting and collection in the city and found severe violations by the JBM company in collecting the garbage door to door. During the survey, the MC team found heaps of garbage in the city everywhere and also found a smaller number of garbage collection vehicles.

Earlier, the MC had imposed a fine of Rs 10.77 lakh on the JBM in May, in July, the MC again imposed a fine of Rs 1.24 crore on the firm. The JBM was fined Rs 2.18 crore for August by the MC, Rs 2.06 crore for September and Rs 2.39 crore for October i.e. a total fine of Rs 7.98 crore on the JBM till October.

However, the JBM has also submitted a bill of Rs 1.55 crore to the MC, Panipat, for payment for the period from July to October. The MC said in its letter that after reducing the bills, the final fine amount of Rs 6.43 crore was imposed on the JBM.

Dr Pankaj Yadav, Commissioner, MC said Rs 7.98 crore fine was imposed on the JBM company and a notice was also served.

Despite being given several reminders, the JBM did not improve its working and it did not increase the number of vehicles, he said.

The JBM has shown only 50-60 vehicles for collecting garbage in the city, but it needs at least 200 vehicles for 100 per cent garbage collection from the city. Now, the JBM has assured the MC that it would increase the number of vehicles by January 2026, the Commissioner added.

The JBM company has been directed to ensure proper garbage collection in the city and enhance the number of vehicles, he said. Negligence in garbage collection and lifting would not be tolerated, the Commissioner said.