India, Feb. 13 -- Facing sharp criticism over debris being dumped in the Mutha riverbed, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Thursday imposed a Rs.10 lakh fine on a private developer, issued a stop-work notice at the site from where the debris originated, and lodged a police complaint against those responsible.

The debris was dumped barely 200 feet from the PMC headquarters, triggering public outrage. After the issue was highlighted by the media, the civic administration swung into action.

Naval Kishore Ram, municipal commissioner, said the administration acted immediately after learning about the dumping. "I instructed officials to promptly file a police complaint and trace the source of the debris," he said.

According to Ram, the...