With the Karnataka Legislature’s winter session set to begin on December 8 at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha (Golden Palace), the Belagavi City Corporation has intensified its cleanliness efforts to prepare for the influx of ministers, dignitaries and officials.
At a review meeting held on Monday in Mayor Mangesh Pawar’s office, the Health Standing Committee directed sanitation inspectors to ensure door-to-door waste collection and strictly penalise citizens who dump garbage in the open. A ₹1,000 fine will now be imposed on offenders, with online receipts issued on the spot.
Indore, consistently ranked India’s cleanest city, has become the benchmark for Belagavi’s sanitation overhaul. Corporators and health department officials recently undertook study tours to Indore to understand its waste-management model.
Photo: Francis
Following their return, the Mayor convened a meeting to streamline Belagavi’s garbage collection. Officials were instructed to adopt Indore-style systematic waste management, focusing on route optimisation and prevention of roadside dumping.
Although a contractor is already appointed for city sanitation, officials noted that bell trucks currently pass through the same lanes multiple times, causing inefficiencies. The new directive assigns dedicated lanes to each vehicle, ensuring better coverage and accountability.
The corporation is also working to eliminate blackspots, but continued roadside dumping by citizens remains a challenge. Strict enforcement of penalties has now been recommended to curb the issue.
To encourage effective implementation, the sanitation inspector who collects the highest number of fines for littering violations will be recognised and honoured by the corporation.
Mayor Mangesh Pawar presided over the meeting, which was attended by Deputy Mayor Vani Joshi, Health Standing Committee Chairperson Laxmi Rathod, Assistant Environmental Engineer Hanmant Kaladagi, and officials including Praveen Kumar and Adilkhan Pathan, along with sanitation inspectors.