Bombay High Court Urges BMC, Citizens To Take 'War-Footing' Efforts To Ensure Mumbai Becomes Free From Garbage, Litter
Maintaining public hygiene is collective duty of citizens, not sole responsibility of Municipal Corporation, Court said.
The Bombay High Court while invoking the 'fundamental duties' of citizens as mandated by the Constitution of India has urged all the stakeholders - citizens, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other agencies to put in efforts on a 'war-footing' to ensure Mumbai becomes free from filth, trash and garbage etc.
A division bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Dr Neela Gokhale opined that that large cities like Mumbai, which have international repute, should be free from trash and garbage entirely.
"We may also emphasise that it is of paramount public importance that large cities like Mumbai in every ward of human activity, may it be residential, commercial, slums, streets, footpaths, roads, open spaces, gardens, sea fronts, beaches etc. are free from filth, trash, garbage etc. The constitutional vision as enshrined in the directive principles of State Policy of maintaining standard of living and improvement of public health, protection and improvement of environment are the goals to be achieved," the bench said.
The fundamental duties as enshrined in Article 51A (j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement also become relevant in the present context, the judges said while further adding that it is also a fundamental duty to protect and improve the environment to safeguard public property.
"Such obligations of the citizens towards the society can neither be forgotten nor compromised. Considering the present scenario and the herculean efforts being taken by the Municipal Commissioner along with the municipal machinery, it is certainly not the sole responsibility and obligation of the municipal corporation to achieve such goals, as the citizens at large, are equal stakeholders in achieving ideals of a clean and hygienic city. Thus, efforts on war-footing are required to be adopted by all the stakeholders. We may emphasise that improper waste disposal in public places directly compromises community health and environment quality. Also it adversely affects the local aesthetics," the bench observed.
The bench pointed out that the reckless dumping of trash and garbage of all kinds giving a go by to the prescribed machinery for disposal of garbage creates breeding grounds for mosquitoes, rodents and stray animals equally increasing transmission of diseases like dengue, malaria, leptospirosis, cholera etc. It is in these circumstances, the accountability of community at all levels, becomes all the more important, the judges underscored.
"Maintaining public hygiene is a collective duty of 'we the citizens' by aiding the municipal machinery. In the present circumstances, the steps being taken by the Municipal Commissioner are certainly path-breaking and would certainly go a long way in achieving the desired objectives on this front. We, accordingly, conclude this order by saying that 'it is never too late' and once the community has a will to achieve such desired goals, success on this count is not too far. Also as pointed out on behalf of the Municipal Corporation 'Clean Mumbai, Green Mumbai' would not merely be confined to be a paper slogan, but a vision being brought into reality," the bench recorded.
The bench passed this order on August 27, while hearing a petition raising the issue of poor management of the dumping ground facility in Kanjurmarg, Mumbai. The bench had widened the scope of the petition earlier, and had expressed its view that it would consider the overall cleanliness issues across the city.
In an earlier hearing, the bench had also cited the example of Indore, which has been recognised as the 'cleanest city' by the Government of India, and therefore, the court asked the BMC to maintain cleanliness, public health and hygiene by implementing the anti-dumping measures in every ward, and ensure that each and every suburb is kept impeccable, free from garbage strewn on the streets.
The judges had earlier in July this year flagged two major concerns - i) the duty of residents to keep the city clean by refraining from dirtying public places, such as throwing garbage on roads, pavements and streets and ii) if, despite warnings, citizens fail to relent and continue to trash public streets, pavements, or other public places, the municipal and legal machinery to prevent such abuse of public property needs to be set in motion.
Pursuant to this July 15 order, the BMC through senior advocate Anil Sakhre had furnished an affidavit listing the steps taken by the BMC to curb the menace of garbage littering on the streets of the city.
According to the affidavit, the BMC commissioner has instructed all the Ward Level Officers to strictly implement the Bye-Laws of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) Department. The Bye-Laws also mandate imposition of fines on people found littering on the streets or any public places. It has also asked officials to conduct the anti-littering drives, regular inspections and enforcement actions across all wards.
The BMC has come up with Swachh Mumbai Prabodhan Abhiyan (SMPA) Scheme, wherein NGOs have been appointed to collect trash from slums and bring it to designated collection centres, from where the civic body's transporters would transport it to the dumping ground facility.
The civic body further highlighted that detailed directions have been issued to the Ward Level Officers to ensure strict day-to-day vigilance for maintaining public hygiene and effective implementation of penalties prescribed under the Bye Laws.
"CCTV Cameras have been installed at identified Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVPs) for monitoring and preventing illegal dumping of waste. Instructions have been issued to all Ward Officers to ensure maintenance of public health and hygiene through regular cleaning, timely collection and transportation of municipal solid waste, anti-littering drives and strict enforcement of the Bye-Laws. Steps are being taken to ensure that reports of such measures are shared on the MCGM website. Further, from April 2026 onwards, the MyBMC Marg application (for both iOS and Android) has been made active; this official citizen grievance redressal portal facilitates registration of complaints relating to solid waste management, cleanliness, illegal dumping, and other sanitation- related issues," the civic body informed the bench.
Appreciating these measures, the bench has asked the citizens to co-operate with the BMC and ensure Mumbai becomes trash free.
The matter would be next heard on September 10.
Appearance:
Advocate Abhijeet Rane appeared for the Petitioner
Advocate Anil Yadav represented Central Government.
Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan represented the State
Senior Advocate Anil Sakhare along with Advocates Rohan Mirpury and Pushpa Yadav represented the BMC.
Case Title: Kannamwar Co-Op. Hsg. Soc. Association Ltd. vs Union of India (Writ Petition 790 of 2018)
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Bom) 409