The High Court of Karnataka on Monday said that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is required to consider invoking penal actions under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the violators of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules in addition to imposing fine as mere levy of fine may not act deterrent enough in all the cases.
Also, the court said that the penalty amount recovered from each of the violators during past four years is too meagre to work as a deterrent and the stakeholders, both the BBMP and the State government, are required to consider these aspects afresh.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit issued the directions during the hearing of the PIL petitions, related to the city’s waste management issues, through which the court has been monitoring measures taken by the various authorities to address the garbage menace.
