Bengaluru, November 2: Considering the garbage issue seriously in the city, the state government has planned to increase the penalty being imposed on those who dump garbage wherever they want from Rs 100 to Rs 500 and it would be implemented strictly, said Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Urban Development Minister Dr G Parameshwar.

Speaking to reporters after holding an officials meeting on waste disposal at BBMP office at Malleshwaram here on Thursday, he said that garbage black spots were being generated in the city as people dump the waste haphazardly. In order to contain such practice, the government has decided to increase the penalty from Rs 100 to Rs 500. It was also decided to appoint an ex-serviceman for each ward to keep a vigil on such practices in black spots and slap fine, he said.

As the garbage menace was increasing in the city, the court has also directed the government to take suitable action and the government would welcome it. Currently, the waste disposal was under control. As of now, the city has 13 million population with 29 lakh houses. Out of which, 5 lakh were commercial setups. Total 5700 tonnes waste including 4200 tonnes from houses and 1500 tonnes from hotels, Kalyana Mantapas and others, was being generated every day. Total 4213 auto tippers were collecting the waste from door-steps. The BBMP has 566 compactors vehicles, 8 mechanical sweepers, 18500 civic workers, 166 solid waste management units and dry waste collection centres and 11 bio methanation plants for waste management, he said.

All compactor vehicles were GPS enabled and it was planning to install GPS to auto tippers. While calling tenders for purchasing new vehicles, it would be included in the tender that the contractors have to manage the tippers and compactors. Tender would also be called for purchasing mechanized sweeping machines. The existing Bellalli quarry would be closed within three months. Alternative to this, terrafarm at Doddaballapur would be started shortly. It was also discussed to open Ullalli, Marenahalli and Bagalur quarries, he said.

He has directed the authorities to start generation power from waste within next six months. The power generation centre set up by the BESCOM near Bidadi would open shortly. Assistant engineers would be appointed for managing the solid waste in each zone in the BBMP and the senior health officers would be given responsibility in each Assembly constituency. The health officers and other officers appointed on contract basis would be continued, the DCM said.

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New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the government for "informing" Pakistan about targeting terror infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor, saying it was a crime and asking who had authorised it.

In a post on X, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the government of India (GOI) had informed Pakistan of the action and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.

"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" said Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.

He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.

Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video, "At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying, 'We are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military.'"

"So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," the minister can be heard saying in the clip.

The Press Information Bureau (PIB), however, has debunked claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, the PIB's Fact Check Unit said the minister had not made any such statement and that he was being misquoted.

Operation Sindoor was the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.