Mangaluru City Corporation has intensified its cleanliness enforcement drive across the city, collecting Rs 7,20,500 in fines from commercial establishments during a single-day inspection conducted by 100 civic officials.
The special drive is being led by the corporation’s Nuisance Detectors squad and covers commercial establishments, markets, residential apartments and public spaces. Officials are checking five categories of violations: failure to segregate waste at source, roadside and public-space littering, encroachment of pedestrian footpaths, use of banned single-use plastics and operation without renewed trade licences.
The Mangaluru City Corporation said the inspections began in commemoration of Gandhi Jayanti. On-the-spot penalties are being imposed under the Solid Waste Management Bylaws, 2019. The fines collected during the latest inspection ranged from Rs 2,000 to Rs 25,000, depending on the violation.
MCC commissioner Rahul Ratnam Pandey said the action targeted establishments that had failed to segregate waste, used banned plastics, maintained unhygienic conditions or operated without renewing their trade licences. He urged commercial owners and residents to follow solid waste management rules and cooperate with the inspection teams rather than risk penalties.
A boarding and lodging establishment in Surathkal was fined Rs 25,000 for failing to segregate waste at source and for not renewing its trade licence. A private hospital was also fined Rs 25,000 for failing to keep biomedical waste separate from other waste.
Restaurants in different parts of the city faced penalties of up to Rs 15,000 for failing to segregate waste and for disposing of mixed waste. The corporation said its officials also inspected business establishments, residential apartments and other public places as part of the operation.
The enforcement drive places commercial waste generators at the centre of the corporation’s current cleanliness effort. The violations cited by MCC cover both day-to-day waste handling and wider municipal compliance, including footpath use, plastic restrictions and trade licensing. Together, these areas affect the condition of public spaces as well as the corporation’s ability to regulate businesses operating within its limits.
MCC officials have appealed to business owners and the public to dispose of waste responsibly and comply with municipal regulations. The corporation has said that community discipline and cooperation with inspection teams will be necessary to sustain cleanliness across the city. Further inspections and on-the-spot action are expected to continue under the special drive.
