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The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) is contemplating adopting the Bengaluru model for managing vacant land in the city. The plan includes imposing fines on landowners whose properties become dumping grounds, contributing to public health issues. Around 20,000 neglected sites in the city are breeding mosquitoes and creating unhygienic conditions. While GMC has issued notices to landowners, many have not responded, worsening the situation. GMC officials are preparing a report to seek approval for penalties, and local legislators have called for immediate attention to the city-owned vacant sites.
In order to preserve the city's idle land, the Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) is considering implementing a Bengaluru-style model. Landowners who allow their properties to become landfills may be subject to fines under the proposal. GMC has located some 20,000 abandoned locations throughout the city that, as a result of inadequate upkeep, have turned into mosquito breeding grounds. Advertisement
This situation mirrors challenges faced in other cities like Bengaluru, where the municipal corporation has long been taking responsibility for cleaning up neglected private sites. The Bengaluru model includes the civic body stepping in to clean private land and then billing landowners for the cleaning services. This approach has been in place for years, addressing issues like garbage dumping and mosquito breeding. GMC is looking to replicate this model in Guntur to mitigate similar problems.
The authorities in Guntur are preparing a report for the government, seeking permission to levy penalties on the owners of these neglected plots. Despite the civic body issuing notices to owners of vacant sites, many have failed to respond, which has led to worsening unhygienic conditions in residential areas.
This is part of a broader issue in Guntur. Over the past few years, the city has struggled with vacant land becoming a public health concern. In fact, similar problems have been raised in other parts of Andhra Pradesh, where urban cleanliness efforts were pushed for in 2022 by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department. These efforts focused on better waste management practices, waste segregation, and reducing the number of sites used as garbage dumps, particularly vacant plots. Guntur's ongoing struggle with neglected land is a reflection of these wider state-level efforts.
Currently, vacant landowners in Guntur are required to pay a vacant land tax (VLT) when applying for construction permits. However, many individuals purchase land purely for investment purposes and refrain from construction, which only contributes to the public health problem.
Guntur West legislator, Galla Madhavi, urged the GMC authorities to focus on maintaining open sites owned by the civic body first before targeting private landowners. She pointed out that hundreds of plots owned by GMC are left neglected and have become sites for dumping waste.
GMC Commissioner Puli Srinivasulu, in response, instructed the public health department to create a plan to tackle the issue. He also referenced the Bengaluru model, where the municipal body steps in to clean private sites and then collects the cleaning charges from the owners. The success of Bengaluru's approach offers a possible solution to Guntur's growing challenges.
The Guntur Municipal Corporation's move to address neglected vacant land parcels reflects the city's increasing concern over public health issues caused by improper land maintenance. By potentially implementing a fines system similar to Bengaluru's, the GMC hopes to tackle both mosquito breeding and the growing waste problem. However, attention to city-owned sites is also crucial to setting an example and mitigating further complications. This step could lead to a more hygienic environment and better land use management if successfully implemented.
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