The Bombay High Court on Thursday came down heavily on the Mumbai civic body over the garbage piling up on roads in the city, saying that the “whole city is full of filth”.
Residents of Kannamwar Nagar filed a petition regarding the pollution caused by the Kanjurmarg dumping ground. Expressing its displeasure, a division bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Neela Gokhale questioned Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, “Is the entire city covered in garbage? Has the machinery become inactive?”
“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.
The court also issued a stern warning that the concerned ward officer will be held responsible for uncleanliness in every ward, and contempt action will be taken against those who fail to perform their duties. “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. “This is a serious matter. This is something very painful. The court also advised the civic body to use social media influencers for cleanliness drives and consider imposing fines and launching criminal prosecution against those who litter or throw garbage on public roads. With Inputs from Ruttik Ganakwar
The matter would be heard further on October 7.
The bench said it was left with no alternative but to direct the BMC Commissioner to put the house in order and fix accountability. 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.
