The Noida Authority has imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Blink Commerce Pvt Ltd, the company that operates quick-commerce platform Blinkit, after finding violations of solid waste management rules at one of its facilities in Sector 4.
During an inspection carried out on Monday, officials found that garbage was being dumped and burnt on a public road near the Blinkit facility. These actions were found to be in violation of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016. The Authority said the inspection revealed several shortcomings and a failure to follow mandatory waste disposal norms.
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'In view of the deficiencies found and non-compliance with SWM Rules, a financial penalty of Rs 1 lakh has been imposed. Strict instructions have also been issued, warning that stricter action will follow if such violations continue,' the Authority said in its statement.
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The inspection was conducted under the supervision of the Public Health Officer as part of routine ground-level checks across the city. These inspections are aimed at improving Noida’s ranking in Swachh Survekshan, the annual national cleanliness survey.
Plastic ban violations detected; earlier Rs 5 lakh penalty on Blinkit cloud kitchen
As part of the same enforcement drive, officials inspected Cloud Kitchen A 37 operated by M/s KIC Food Products Pvt Ltd in Sector 8, where around 300 kg of banned single-use plastic was seized. The use of single-use plastic is prohibited in Noida.
Anti-plastic drives were also conducted in Sector 11’s H Block and X Block markets. During these checks, authorities confiscated a total of 45 kg of single-use plastic from shopkeepers.
The latest action comes shortly after a much larger fine was imposed on Blink Commerce earlier this month. On December 16, the Noida Authority fined a cloud kitchen in Sector 62 Rs 5 lakh for repeated violations of solid waste management and plastic ban norms. Officials had found that waste was not segregated at source, liquid waste was being discharged directly into sewer lines and garbage was being handed over to unauthorised scrap dealers, leading to dumping across the city. About 50 kg of single-use plastic containers were also seized and food waste was dumped in nearby parks and open spaces.
Blinkit, which initially focused on grocery and essentials delivery, expanded earlier this year into ready-to-eat food through its new vertical, Bistro by Blinkit, promising deliveries within 15 minutes.