The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) fiined Male' city council MVR 45,500 to be paid in 30 days for dumping waste at a council plot east of the Ehduru Hiya flats.
The EPA said in a press statement on Thursday that the Male' city council was fined after investigating numerous complaints from the public about the dumping of waste at the compound.
"The agency learned through correspondence with the Male' city council that the council's staff removes garbage and cleans up based on complaints from the public about illegal waste dumping on the roads of Male', and that the collected garbage is kept at the city council's land east of Edhuru Hiya when the [Waste Management Corporation's] site is closed (at night time) and thrown out in the morning," the statement read.
As the area is a residential neighbourhood and numerous complaints were filed by members of the public, the EPA's employees went to the site and confirmed the garbage dumping, the statement added.
The Male' city council was fined pursuant to waste management regulations enacted under the environment protection law.
The EPA said the city council has been instructed to immediately stop dumping waste at its site near Edhuru Hiya and to seek mandatory permission to provide any waste management service and to comply with standards in the waste management regulations.
The EPA also asked the Male' city council in January to stop dumping waste and immediately clean up the site east of Edhuru Hiya. The council said at the time that it was forced to do so because the Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO) refuses to allow the council's lorries to pass through its gate claiming the waste barges were full.
Mayor Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said the EPA should cooperate with the council on resolving the problem and allocate an area for garbage collection.
WAMCO previously managed waste collection in Male'. But when its agreement with the Male' city council expired in December, the council decided to do the waste management work on its own.
When WAMCO stopped removing garbage from the roads following the council's decision, public concern grew as garbage started piling up. Since then, on the orders of environment minister Aminath Shauna, WAMCO has been removing waste from Male's roads in some fashion.
