Petition on Ulhas mess disposed off

MUMBAI, JUNE 28: The Bombay High Court today disposed off the public interest petition filed by some citizens of Ulhasnagar against the ...

MUMBAI, JUNE 28: The Bombay High Court today disposed off the public interest petition filed by some citizens of Ulhasnagar against the 8220;virtual non-governance8221; in the township8221; after Ulhasnagar municipal authorities submitted a compliance report on the recommendations of the S S Tinaikar and D M Sukhtankar report on cleanliness.

While accepting the report, a division bench of Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice S H Kapadia remarked that the authorities should continue complying with the guidelines and suggested that the state government should appoint an IAS officer as commissioner to the corporation.

The UMC is at present without a municipal commissioner. Thane municipal commissioner T M Chandrashekhar, who was given additional charge of the city, has rejected the charge.

The HC had, in an earlier order, directed the former municipal commissioners of Mumbai D M Sukthankar and S S Tinaikar to survey the area and submit a report on the situation and give its recommendations.

The report had been submitted and today8217;s compliance report by the authorities claimed that sweepers and mukadams have been directed to carry out cleaning and sweeping twice a day and sanitary inspectors have been suggested to cover the compact and dense areas within their beat once a day and other areas at least once in two days. Loan facilities for a scooter have been provided for sanitary inspectors and charges of the fuel will be borne by the corporation, the report notes, adding that a special provision has been made of one mukadam for each garbage-collecting vehicle, resulting in at least two visits a day by the truck for lifting of garbage from identified places.

According to the report, the deputy municipal commissioner sanitation shall be the over-all supervisor. Also, provision of receptacles is being made on a war footing, and orders for 100 receptacles for preventing garbage from spilling over in open spaces has been made. The report says meetings will be held with associations of industries and shop-owners to create awareness among shopowners and ensure they dump their waste in mobile dustbin vehicles to be operated by the corporation. Plus, notices have been given to pig owners and the corporation is inviting tenders for removal of pigs from the city.

Fresh tenders would be invited for garbage collection by truck owners for cleaning the city, which is being divided into five divisions, namely Camp 1, 2, 3, 4, amp; 5. In addition, the report says, the Sulabh International will be approached to construct public urinals and toilets in public places. The UMC has made it obligatory for the applicant of building permissions to construct a container, room or a receptacle at the corner of the building for deposit of waste material or household waste from the occupier of the buildings. For old buildings, a notice is to be issued for provision of a receptacle.