Littering in public spaces? GHMC’s e-challans will catch you soon

Hyderabad: To curb careless littering in Hyderabad, the Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management (EVDM) department have come up with Central Enforcement Cell (CEC) application to catch violators. Throwing garbage in public spaces, urinating in the open, pasting posters/banners and writing on walls are some of the offences that could lead to a penalty, says GHMC officials.

The CEC app has a pre-filled form with the categories of offences separately specified. An EVDM team will be assigned to take photos of these violations and upload them. Following this, an automated challan will be generated, and a fine will be imposed accordingly.

Offenders may pay the fine through cashless transaction within the app, or by directly approaching the office. For each complaint, the app allots a unique QR code, and the person will have to pay the fine in a month. If the violator hasn’t paid yet, then the system will send reminders about pending payments.

Vishwajit Kampati, Director of EVDM, explained that they developed the system in such a way that there is no scope to alter, edit or delete an e-challan once the app generates it. “We have taken every precaution to avoid any allegations or discrepancies. The app also shows the nature of the violation and the area with latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates.”

Speaking about e-challans and its functioning, the director mentioned that in 30 days, 1,084 e-challans were served, and 15 per cent of served notices have paid penalties. GHMC has collected Rs 1.5 crore until now from e-challans.

As of now, only EVDM staff has access to this portal, which consists of 24 teams. Expectedly, by December, it will be accessible and utilised by other GHMC zones, and the number of units will be increased to 65. In future, the system will be designed in such a manner that even citizens can upload a complaint.

To alleviate waste disposal and illegal banner problem in the city, GHMC officials assured that special drives would be conducted to remove all unauthorised banners and flexes, which pose a significant hazard to the lives of citizens.