'Entire Mumbai is filled with filth': Bombay HC warns of action against ward officers over garbage problem

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

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

It also advised the civic body to use social media influencers to spread the message of cleanliness, as suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi sometime 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.

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While the municipal commissioner and senior officials had initiated some steps, the situation on the ground did not reflect much improvement and ward officers were apparently not working, the court said.

It also suggested the Maharashtra government to consider imposing heavy fines and launching criminal prosecution against those who litter or throw 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 was left with no alternative but to direct the BMC Commissioner to put the house in order and fix accountability.

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"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 ordered the BMC to submit its Standard Operating Procedure and also furnish a list of all the officers in the 26 wards who are in charge of 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 steps towards garbage segregation and said it wants the BMC to be a model corporation but it is not happening.

The matter would be heard further on October 7.