Male city council fined MVR 45,500 for illegal garbage dumping
The council's waste management practices are also illegal as it had not obtained the necessary permissions.
By
Aminath Shifleen
Environment Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday imposed a fine of MVR 45,500 on Male City Council for illegally dumping garbage collected from the road.
The EPA fined the council for dumping garbage collected from the city's streets on land belonging to the council.
The EPA said in a statement that the council was illegally dumping garbage on council land on the eastern side of 'Edhuruhiyaa'.
EPA said:
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Garbage is collected from roads and dumped there at night during WAMCO’s closed hours
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Garbage is collected from there and removed in the morning
A large number of residents in the area complained to the EPA against the city council, the agency said. EPA said its staff had checked the spot and confirmed the council's actions.
As per the waste management rules, the council if fined MVR 45,500, to be paid within a month.
In addition to fines, the council's waste management practices are also illegal as it had not obtained the necessary permissions for waste collection and management, the EPA press release pointed out.
"In case any waste management services are provided, instructions are to take necessary permissions [under the regulations] and continue to carry out the waste management process in accordance with the waste management standards," the EPA said in a statement.
The opposition-dominated city council took over the collection of garbage from the city's roads on its own after it decided not to renew its earlier agreement with state-run waste management company, WAMCO. The council now has a special section for waste management.
