‘Whole city is full of filth’: Bombay HC tears into BMC over garbage

The Bombay High Court on Thursday, 10 September came down heavily on the Mumbai civic body over garbage piling up on city roads, saying the "whole city is full of filth" and warning that it would hold ward officers accountable if the situation did not improve.

Hearing a batch of petitions on pollution in the vicinity of the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, a division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), observing that the "entire municipal machinery is inactive".

The bench also advised the civic body to use social media influencers to spread the message of cleanliness, as suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi some time ago. "Everywhere there is only filth. We will take action against the BMC officers. Seems like the machinery is not working. You need to have a proper SOP. How are we calling ourselves an international city?" the bench said.

While the municipal commissioner and senior officials had initiated some measures, the situation on the ground showed little improvement and ward officers were apparently not doing their jobs, the court said.

The bench also suggested that the Maharashtra government consider imposing heavy fines and initiating criminal prosecution against those who litter or dump garbage on public roads.

"This is a serious matter. This is something very painful. There are some identified spots in the city where one will always find heaps of garbage lying and still the concerned ward officers do not take any action," the court said.

"Now we will hold these officers also accountable and responsible. There needs to be action against them too. The whole city is full of filth. Enough is enough. The BMC is giving us false assurances," it added.

The bench said it had been left with no alternative but to direct the BMC commissioner to put the house in order and fix accountability. "It appears that the entire municipal machinery is inactive. No action is taken against anyone. We will pass drastic order now. There is a limit," it said.

The court directed the BMC to submit its standard operating procedure and furnish a list of officers in all 26 wards responsible for maintaining cleanliness and hygiene on public roads. "The moment we find any litter or garbage on road we will remove the concerned officer. They don't deserve to be in public service," the HC said.

The court also asked the civic body to take stringent measures to ensure garbage segregation, saying it wanted the BMC to become a model corporation but that this was not happening. The matter will be heard next on 7 October.

With PTI inputs