Bombay High Court Orders BMC to Hold Ward Officers Liable for Garbage Dumping
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday, July 15, directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to hold ward officers strictly accountable for garbage dumped in public places and suggested hiking the fine for spitting. The court linked the city's garbage dumping issues directly to waste management failures at the Kanjurmarg landfill in eastern Mumbai, noting that the resulting accumulation of waste causes severe waterlogging and hygiene problems.
During the hearing, the court called on BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide to take strict action against ward officers who fail to prevent garbage from being dumped on streets, pavements, and public spaces. Comparing Mumbai's situation to Indore, which it described as the cleanest city in India due to its sensible ward officers' machinery, the bench remarked that it should not be difficult for a civic body with the vast resources of the BMC to maintain cleanliness.
Representing the BMC, senior advocate Anil Sakhare submitted that the civic body intends to strictly implement the Municipal Solid Waste (Management & Handling) Cleanliness and Sanitation by-laws for BMC, 2025, across Mumbai. In response, the court stated that these by-laws must be strictly enforced using CCTV cameras.
Addressing the issue of public spitting, Justice Sathe orally remarked that spitting has become a national hobby and suggested raising the penalty from Rs 250 to Rs 2,500 to act as a stronger deterrent.
The bench emphasized that ward officers cannot shirk their responsibility to maintain hygiene, even in notified slum areas that fall under the purview of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). It ruled that it is the duty of every ward officer to ensure their ward is free of solid waste.
The court noted that the issue of garbage dumping is intricately connected to waste handling at the Kanjurmarg landfill, where a lack of source segregation leads to odor nuisance and dangerous gas emissions.
The Bombay High Court has directed the BMC Commissioner to submit an action plan and scheduled the next hearing in four weeks.
