The Bombay High Court has sharply criticised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s Mumbai waste management efforts, saying cleanliness in South Mumbai does not reflect conditions across the city and directing the civic body to provide a detailed account of corrective measures.
A bench of Justices Girish S Kulkarni and Neela K Gokhale made the observations while hearing a plea concerning waste disposal at the Kanjurmarg landfill, as well as garbage being dumped on Mumbai’s streets and beaches. The court said it had observed inadequate action in several parts of the city, including locations linked to public health and hygiene.
“Everywhere there is filth… Only because Worli is clean or South Mumbai is clean, or Nariman Point is clean, that doesn’t mean entire Mumbai is clean,” the bench orally remarked during the hearing.
Senior advocate Anil Sakhare, appearing for the BMC, submitted that the situation had improved. The court, however, said it did not find “a very high progress” by ward officers in dealing with problematic areas involving public places, hill slopes, pavements and streets.
The judges referred to a plastic-strewn hill near a municipal school in Jogeshwari that they had seen while travelling to the Maharashtra Judicial Academy in Uttan, Bhayander. Justice Kulkarni said the location required immediate attention and questioned how such a condition could be accepted in Mumbai.
The court has sought a comprehensive affidavit from the BMC setting out the steps taken by ward officers to establish the “correct position” on the ground. The affidavit is also expected to include details of measures implemented during Gandhi Jayanti under the Swachhata Abhiyan.
The hearing placed the responsibility for sanitation beyond the city’s most visible or better-maintained districts. The court’s remarks pointed to a ward-level implementation problem, with conditions varying across streets, public spaces, hill slopes and coastal areas. The observations also connected waste management to citizen behaviour, enforcement and the availability of functional systems for disposal.
Justice Kulkarni said that a combination of an effective system, citizen sensitisation and deterrents could eventually encourage residents to use dustbins instead of throwing waste on streets. He referred to the use of cameras and penalties in other countries, while observing that there was “absolutely no worry” about such consequences in Mumbai.
The bench indicated that it may summon ward officers from some western suburban wards during the proceedings because of what it described as “a lot of chaos” related to waste management in those areas. It also indicated that the judges may undertake a second inspection of the Kanjurmarg facility.
The Kanjurmarg site remains a central issue in the case, with the court scheduled to hear submissions on complaints about odour and environmental pollution from the facility at the next hearing on October 22. The BMC’s affidavit and the possible appearance of ward officers will determine the court’s next assessment of the civic body’s response.
