Mumbai garbage removal came under sharp scrutiny in the Bombay High Court on Tuesday, with the bench questioning the role of elected corporators in preventing waste accumulation and pollution in their wards. The court was hearing a petition by Kannamwar Nagar CHS concerning pollution from the Kanjurmarg dumping ground.
Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale asked how many Mumbai corporators had actively worked to remove garbage and prevent pollution in their respective wards. “Those who are supposed to do this, they should be doing this. We don’t find any role of corporators,” the judges said during the hearing.
The court also examined whether the right of slum residents to re-accommodation could be forfeited if they failed to cooperate with hygiene and garbage-disposal measures. Senior advocate Birendra Saraf, appearing for the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, said existing statutory provisions did not give the SRA the power to take away that right.
The hearing also considered technology-based measures proposed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The judges observed that BMC’s artificial-intelligence-operated cameras and mist sprinkler systems could make a difference if they were operationalised in slum areas. Senior advocate Anil Sakhare, appearing for the civic body, said the systems would be installed at every point where garbage was being dumped.
The court was told that a contractor had already installed 27 mist sprinklers, but the judges noted that there had been no improvement despite the measures taken by BMC. Advocate Abhijeet Rane, representing the petitioner, said residents continued to experience foul odour through the night from the dumping-ground area.
The bench also questioned the extent of elected representatives’ involvement in sanitation and garbage removal. Justice Kulkarni asked how often the corporator from Kannamwar Nagar had raised the issue of pollution and sanitation in slum areas. Justice Gokhale referred to a report of the High Power Committee, which, according to the hearing, recorded that the mayor had distributed saplings and plants.
BMC said corporators were being requested to participate in community-awareness efforts. The court also discussed the possibility of awareness camps being organised by the SRA. During the hearing, Justice Gokhale referred to the difficulty of involving prominent public figures in such campaigns, while Justice Kulkarni said public-interest environmental concerns could sometimes be given a different interpretation.
The judges said they would appoint three advocates as amici curiae, or friends of the court, to examine what was lacking in the existing arrangements and place the issue in proper perspective. The appointment is intended to assist the court in assessing the gaps in garbage management, cleanliness, hygiene and pollution-control measures around Kanjurmarg and affected residential areas.
