ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has started imposing fine on the litterbugs for the first time under the ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ initiative.

Now, any person in the federal capital, who is found to be throwing waste outside their house or car or on the roads and streets, will be fined.

A few days ago, ICT Chief Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed, through a notification, granted municipal magisterial powers to all the assistant commissioners and authorised them to impose a heavy fine on the citizens found littering the federal capital.

“The Saddar assistant commissioner, rural assistant commissioner, city assistant commissioner, Potohar assistant commissioner, industrial area assistant commissioner and secretary of the Islamabad Transport Authority have all been given powers under the Municipal Administration Ordinance, West Pakistan Pure Food Ordinance, Pure Food Ordinance, Islamabad (Preservation of Landscape) Ordinance, Civil Defence Act, Civil Defence (Special Powers) Rules, Forest Act, Islamabad Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Ordinance and additional collector for the recovery of Capital Development Authority (CDA) dues under the Land Revenue Act and Section 49 of the CDA Ordinance,” the notification read.

On the first day of the anti-littering campaign on Saturday, assistant commissioners, along with their teams, visited the local markets, petrol pumps, cattle farms, restaurants and marquees in the capital and issued a warning to citizens and fined the violators.

Talking to Pakistan Today, Chief Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed said that the campaign is part of the ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ initiative.

He said that it is the prime responsibility of Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and CDA to keep the city clean but they have failed to accomplish their responsibilities in this regard.

“It is also a prime responsibility of citizens to keep their city clean but usually people criticise civic bodies instead of playing their role to keep their city, roads and streets clean,” he added.

The chief commissioner said that taking notice of the poor sanitation conditions in the federal capital, ICT administration has decided to play its role by initiating anti-littering campaign in the city.

He said that ICT has also asked the managers of private housing societies to make sure to accomplish their responsibilities to serve the residents and keep their societies clean. “A meeting has also been called in this regard,” he added.

The chief commissioner also told that ICT has also involved Islamabad Traffic Police to make this campaign successful. He said that traffic wardens were also assigned to keep a vigil on drivers and those who litter on the roads.

The chief commissioner has also urged the citizens to act responsibly to keep the city clean. He also asked residents to help achieve better results and make the campaign a success with their recommendations.