Bhubaneswar: When it comes to disposal of construction and demolition waste, it looks like a govt department has been frequently penalised by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for allowing debris to pile up at work sites. BMC officials said the works department and contractors who had taken up projects on its behalf were penalised to the tune of Rs 8 lakh this month for piling up debris during construction and repair of govt quarters and buildings“Executive engineers of division-2 and division-4 of the works department under Bhubaneswar circle were fined Rs 2 lakh each for piling up construction and demolition (C&D) waste. A construction company was fined Rs 3 lakh, and two contractors Rs 50,000 each,” said BMC assistant commissioner N Ganesh Babu. According to BMC rules, waste generated through construction, repair, transportation, remodelling and demolition of private and govt establishments, households, roads and drains should be handled properly to avoid piling up on roads.He said the enforcement squads spotted the debris stacked for days on the roadside, thus encroaching on public spaces and causing inconvenience to pedestrians and motorists. The piled-up waste is an eyesore and can choke drains during monsoon. “In view of monsoon, the squads have intensified enforcement activities,” Babu added.Dhyanchand Naik, chief engineer (roads) of the works department, said he would look into the matter and issue necessary directions to the divisions concerned to clear C&D waste. “I will look into what construction and repair works had created debris and the fine imposed,” he told TOI.Last year, BMC issued a notice to educate people on how to handle C&D waste. “There are a lot of stakeholders as far as C&D waste litter and disposal are concerned. Through the notice, we conveyed to people that if they don’t follow the norms of handling C&D waste, they will have to pay a penalty. Yet, we see both private and govt agencies keeping debris on roads,” a BMC official said.BMC officials said they have provision for designated spaces for dumping such waste. “We have also given a toll-free number (1929), which can be used by owners of C&D waste to ask for BMC vehicles to clear the waste. For the removal, a certain amount will have to be paid. If they don’t use BMC resources and take C&D waste to the designated station on their own, they won’t have to pay anything,” an official said.In another development, the civic body said payments will be withheld for city-based contractors unless they show certificates of clearance of C&D waste from work sites. “City engineers have been asked to write to the contractors to abide by C&D disposal rules; otherwise, their payments will be held back,” a BMC sanitation official said.