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₹68 lakh in fines, but plastic pollution, public littering still a menace
Civic officials say open dumping of waste, littering, and garbage accumulation in residential pockets remain widespread despite daily inspections and penalties
Threat of penalties have done little to improve the city’s civic sense as plastic pollution, public littering and biomass burning continue to pose a major challenge here. In some cases, even enforcement has been under par.
As per official data, Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) has collected ₹68 lakh from hundreds of challans issued from April of this year till Wednesday.
A maximum of 4,340 challans were issued for littering. An amount of ₹28.04 lakh was collected from them. Zone 5 recorded one of the lowest recoveries, collecting ₹1.65 lakh from 494 challans, pointing to enforcement gaps at the zonal level.
To curb plastic pollution, LMC issued 2,324 challans and collected ₹40.21 lakh through special drives at commercial hubs, roadside markets, and vending zones. Enforcement teams also seized nearly one tonne of banned plastic from across the city in the said period. However, Zone 8, which covers localities like Vrindavan and Aashiyana lagged in recoveries, with fines amounting to only around ₹3.41 lakh.
Action against biomass burning, a key contributor to poor air quality, remained negligible. The corporation issued only seven challans, collecting a mere ₹19,700 so far this year.
Environmental experts argued that lax enforcement against open burning of waste undermined broader efforts to control pollution levels in the state capital.
Mohd Parvez, who holds the additional charge as a member of the environmental department at King George’s Medical University (KGMU), said adopting reusable alternatives, institutions and individuals could collectively reduce plastic waste and help make the city cleaner.
He said KGMU has significantly reduced plastic waste by replacing disposable cutlery with stainless steel alternatives in its canteens. Parvez explained that this shift has helped decrease overall pollution, as plastic waste contributes to air, soil, and environmental degradation during disposal.
Civic officials admitted that open dumping of waste, littering, and garbage accumulation in residential pockets remained widespread despite daily inspections and penalties. Senior officials said the civic body will continue its drives and intensify monitoring. “We are conducting daily inspections across all zones. Penal action will continue until compliance improves,” LMC chief Gaurav Kumar said.
Officials also confirmed that the corporation plans to launch targeted awareness campaigns to educate residents about the environmental and health hazards linked to littering, plastic usage, and biomass burning. The civic body aims to combine enforcement with public outreach to achieve long-term results.
