Click and email photos of debris dumping to BMC

The next time you see construction debris being dumped in your locality, click a photograph with the vehicle number showing and email it to the BMC with all the details.

The next time you see construction debris being dumped in your locality, click a photograph with the vehicle number showing and email it to the BMC with all the details.

To tackle the problem of construction debris being illegally dumped in mangroves areas and even on the roads, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) BMC has started a separate email account — debrisalert@gmail.com — for citizens to complain.

A civic official said, “We had earlier launched a service where citizens could call and ask for the debris to be picked up from their locality at subsidised rates. However, this did not tackle the problem of illegal dumping. Hence, we started the email id.”

The official said once they receive a complaint, they will check the vehicle number with the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and catch the defaulters.

For a city that generates approximately 2,700 metric tonnes of construction waste, a systematic approach to collect debris and prevent illegal dumping is the need of the hour, said a civic official from the solid waste management department.

Citizens can call on three landline numbers — 022-24944372, 24955339 and 24954799 — and complain about unclean areas, overflowing dustbins, illegal dumping of garbage, or ask for collection of construction debris, biodegradable waste, and segregated waste.

They can also enquire about the collection vehicles routes in their wards. “The new cell was started a few months ago. A log sheet of all the complaints are maintained and forwarded to the respective wards,” said a civic official.

But as the redressal cell is centralised, response may take some time, said civic officials.

“It is a good initiative by the BMC, but this is not the first time they have come up with this idea. The civic body needs to upgrade the system and provide immediate solution to the garbage problem in the city,” said Rajkumar Sharma, an activist from Chembur.