Clean-up marshals to hit the streets again

BMC expects the road vigilance scheme to be operational within a month. “We have formulated the programme and are in the process of issuing bids under e-tendering,” said Darade. She added that the programme was necessary to keep Mumbai’s roads clean by issuing penalties to those cluttering the streets.

The civic body had discontinued the clean-up marshals programme after the contract expired in July last year. The scheme had received a lot of flak from citizens who complained about harassment at the hands of private clean-up marshals authorised to collect fines.

“The problem with these marshals was that many of them were corrupt and often misbehaved with people. There wasn’t any certification or proper training for the marshals. If BMC is to revive the programme it must put in place stringent norms,” said Samajwadi Party corporator Rais Shaikh, also a standing committee member.

The BMC has also announced a 15-day slum cleanliness drive in the wake of the monsoon. “The campaign is a coordinated effort by ward offices, BMC’s health department and Swachh Mumbai Prabodhan Abhiyan. It will include cleaning of drains and fogging activity,” said Darade. The drive is said to have already begun in the slums of Ramabai Nagar and Azad Nagar.

The civic body also plans to coordinate with the railways to collect garbage from railway tracks. Darade said BMC has identified 117 spots where the railways would accumulate the waste, which will be later picked up by BMC.

Opposition corporators, however, lashed out at BMC, suggesting the initiatives were just a PR exercise by the administration. “The ground reality doesn’t seem to change despite this campaign,” Shaikh added.

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