MPCB Directs BMC to Survey Mumbai Beaches and Deploy Enhanced Cleaning Machinery
Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) Chairman Siddhesh Kadam has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to undertake a comprehensive survey of all beaches across Mumbai and immediately deploy required machinery, technology, and manpower for sustained cleaning operations.
The directive was issued during a review meeting held at the BMC headquarters on Friday to assess ongoing beach-cleaning drives and address broader environmental concerns across the city. The meeting was attended by Kadam, Additional Municipal Commissioner Vipin Sharma, and senior officials from the MPCB and the BMC's Solid Waste Management (SWM) department. Cleanliness and maintenance efforts at Juhu, Gorai, Versova, Dadar, and other coastal stretches across the city and its suburbs were reviewed in detail.
Following an assessment of the existing cleaning infrastructure, Kadam instructed the civic administration to conduct on-ground inspections and urgently strengthen resources wherever shortages exist. Officials also highlighted the issue of plastic and other waste flowing through city drains directly into the sea, calling for immediate preventive interventions.
Kadam further directed the civic body to intensify enforcement against single-use plastics and ensure strict compliance with the ban on thermocol and plastic flowers ahead of Ganeshotsav. The review meeting also addressed broader civic waste issues, including solid-waste management operations at the Deonar and Kanjurmarg dumping facilities, sewage-related challenges, and the scientific disposal of construction and demolition debris.
The urgency for enhanced measures follows heavy waste accumulation along the Mumbai coastline during the monsoon season. In a special beach-cleaning drive carried out last month, the BMC cleared 2,498.66 metric tonnes of plastic, thermocol, wooden debris, aquatic vegetation, and other tidal waste, processing and disposing of the materials scientifically.
Among the locations cleared, Juhu recorded the highest volume of waste collection at 1,825 metric tonnes. Versova followed with 277.6 metric tonnes, Dadar–Mahim with 152.1 metric tonnes, Chimbai–Waringpada with 127.2 metric tonnes, Madh–Marve with 44.28 metric tonnes, Gorai with 38.82 metric tonnes, and Girgaon Chowpatty with 33.66 metric tonnes.
A civic official from the BMC's Solid Waste Management department stated that dedicated beach-cleaning teams remain deployed throughout the monsoon to inspect the coastline, clear tidal debris, and manage scientific disposal.
