Pune civic body rules out dedicated phone number for waste burning complaints

“It is true that complaints of waste burning are on the rise. However, we have a decentralised system in place to address the complaints. It will not be proper to allot a dedicated phone number for registering waste burning complaints,” said Sandeep Kadam, incharge of the civic solid waste management department.

Kadam said residents can register their complaints through a common grievance redressal number. He said dedicated squads for each ward office will resolve these complaints promptly, and action will be taken against those responsible.

The citizens demanded a dedicated 24×7 complaint number for waste burning, dedicated response squads for immediate action after complaints are lodged, live tracking of complaints made, location of mobile squads, conduct night visits to deter perpetrators from dumping and burning, ward wise mapping of burning and dumping spots, and proactive disclosure of actions taken to reduce burning and dumping on a monthly basis at ward level.

“To counter the persistent issue of waste burning, PMC will have to ramp up their efforts. Recently, mobile squads have been introduced, but there are issues with their performance, too. The current system gives multiple numbers of squad members, changing every day and also multiple times within the day, as per the shift. This makes it difficult to use. A single centralised number for waste burning complaints would be very effective,” said Shweta Vernekar of Parisar, a civil society organisation

“Citizens have found the mobile squads useful, but they still fall short of addressing the issue fully. Mobile squads need to be easy to use, available 24×7 and have a better rate of action taken, given that their mandate is immediate, urgent response,” said Hema Chari of Pune Air Action Hub.