CCTV, penalties rein in litterbugs in Byculla

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has accomplished a highly challenging task in Byculla – that of reining in litterbugs who heaped refuse in house gullies or the “no man’s land” between two buildings

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has accomplished a highly challenging task in Byculla – that of reining in litterbugs who heaped refuse in house gullies or the “no man’s land” between two buildings. In October this year, the civic body installed CCTV cameras over the gullies and began imposing a ₹500 fine on those caught dumping garbage. Three months on, the garbage collected per gully in the area on a weekly basis has come down to 60-70 kg from around 500 kg earlier.

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Mumbai has a total of 4,929 house gullies measuring 5-50 metres in width, all located in wards, A, B, C, D and E. These areas once housed the city’s emerging middle class who lived in chawls, and the narrow strip of land between two chawls came to be designated as house gullies. The passages were meant for laying and maintaining service lines, but they turned into ‘no man’s land’ over time, as neither the landlords nor the tenants paid any attention to the gullies. Eventually, the responsibility for maintaining the passages fell on the civic body owing to public and political pressure.

The gullies are cleaned by BMC’s sanitation workers on a weekly basis, but this does not help, said an official from the solid waste department. “But there are 1813 critical house gullies which are difficult to clean. They are being cleaned by contractual labourers hired by NGOs,” said the official.

The weekly cleaning does not help much, though, because all kinds of garbage is dumped into the gullies regularly. Most gullies are filled with garbage and sewage water and infested with rodents, giving off an obnoxious smell.

“Tenants, traders and occupants simply dump waste from their balconies into the gullies without caring for diseases, even though most epidemics that hit the city including plague originated from this area,” said the civic official.

Keen to counter such apathy, the BMC launched a pilot project of installing CCTV cameras in five critical house gullies per ward and fining litterbugs. “We provide each house with a dustbin, undertake house-to-house garbage collection and try to change people’s behaviour through information and education. If they litter the gullies despite this awareness, they are fined ₹500,” said the official.

At present, CCTV cameras have been installed only in E ward, in three critical gullies at Nagpada and Kamathipura on Grant road.

“Cases of dengue were on the rise when we started the project and people realised the change had to come from their end. We provided dustbins, educated citizens on segregation, and undertook civil work repairs on the drainage line to keep it clean. The positive impact of all this is visible, as littering of house gullies has reduced and people are handing over wet garbage,” said the official.

Shubhash Dalvi, officer on special duty in the solid waste management department said that it will not be feasible to install CCTV cameras in all wards owing to prohibitive costs.

He pointed towards a successful “People’s Participative Model” at Tara Temple Lane and Topiwala Lane at Grant Road, which is being implemented since 2012 among a population of 5000 tenants.

Dalvi earned the confidence of the Rahawasi Sangh (Association of Tenants) and youth in the area in 2012. They agreed to store garbage in a small bin, which is collected by a “ghanta gaadi” (vehicle fitted with a bell) at a pre-determined time. Additionally, plantation activities were undertaken in places where garbage was dumped. The efforts brought in winds of change in the area, eliminating the nuisance of rodents, mosquitoes and dengue as well as savings for the civic body.