Ahmedabad residents paid ₹21 crore in fines for littering, spitting in 16 months

Residents of Ahmedabad paid more than ₹21.73 crore in penalties over the last 16 months for littering, spitting on roads and using banned plastic, according to data from the municipal corporation’s solid waste department.

The civic body has already implemented rules requiring waste to be segregated into four different categories before disposal. Despite repeated awareness campaigns and enforcement drives, violations continue across the city.

Between January 1, 2025 and May 11, 2026, the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) issued 3,54,325 notices for littering and dumping garbage on roads. During this period, authorities recovered nearly ₹16.95 crore as penalties and sealed 20,725 units for sanitation-related violations.

The use of banned plastic products also continued despite a long-standing prohibition. In the same 16-month period, the civic body issued 1,65,260 notices related to prohibited plastic usage and collected around ₹4.77 crore in fines.

Authorities sealed 22,402 units and seized a total of 10,913 kilograms of banned plastic during enforcement operations. Separately, 1,677 units were sealed specifically for repeated use of prohibited plastic materials.

Municipal officials noted that while civic teams regularly clean roads and public spaces, many residents continue throwing garbage back onto the same roads shortly afterwards.

Officials also pointed to a growing social media trend where people record videos of potholes, garbage dumps or waterlogging and upload them online to gain likes and comments, instead of formally reporting issues to authorities.

The civic body further said that the habit of spitting in public places, which had significantly reduced during the Covid-19 lockdown period, has resurfaced across the city. The solid waste department collected ₹25.61 lakh in penalties from 24,206 people caught spitting on roads and public spaces.