BMC receives 53 waste burning plaints in 9 days

53 grievances regarding burning waste have been registered with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's helpline number, with the highest number of complaints coming from the G North ward. The corporation is facing challenges in catching offenders and resolving the complaints.

MUMBAI

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Nine days after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opened its helpline number (8169681697) for citizens to register their complaints on burning waste, at the behest of chief minister Eknath Shinde, 53 grievances were registered. Till November 19, the maximum number of complaints – 10 -- came from the G North ward, which covers Dadar, Mahim and Dharavi. This was followed by eight complaints from the H West, covering Bandra West, and L ward, encompassing Kurla, Chandivali, Sakinaka and Powai.

An official from BMC’s solid waste management (SWM) department threw light on the challenges of catching an offender, after the complaints are received. He said it is difficult to find the offender in a public place, “given the time lag between offence and filing of the complaint”. In such cases the respective ward then clears the garbage and closes the complaint. “In private places however, those who file the complaint point out the offender, following which a fine (of ₹100) is imposed,” he said.

Ten of the 53 complaints received are still pending action, which the official said will be resolved by Tuesday morning.

Another official from the SWM team in the G North ward identified Dharavi as the culprit, where recyclers often burn scrap, such as wires, to extract metal.

Thirteen of the 24 wards (there was no separate data available from the 25th ward, P East), however, had no complaints of garbage burning, although not due to lack of incidents. P North ward covering Malad West, for example, has been a constant culprit of waste burning, particularly behind the Ganesh Nagar slums opposite Atharva College on Malad Marve Road.

“This has been a constant for the last three to four years. Recently, it has been observed that garbage is burnt around 11pm and early morning at 6am,” said Karan Singh, a resident of Evershine Nagar who has a clear view of the activity from a height. “I’ve been complaining for a while on X, which have been acknowledged by several authorities including the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which assigned a complaint number too. Other residents in my building have complained to the police as well. But this has not impacted the burning,” said Singh, who was unaware of the helpline number, but said he will give it a go now.

Apart from the helpline, wards also receive complaints routed through BMC’s helpline 1916, its mobile app and X.

The helpline was earlier being used for all other garbage-related complaints. It was launched by CM Shinde on June 7. Till November 19,6,644 complaints of garbage dumping were received, and 1,957 cases of debris, construction and demolition waste dumping.