The Bombay High Court on Thursday pulled up the Mumbai civic body over garbage piling up on city roads, saying the “whole city is full of filth” and warning that ward officers would be held accountable if the situation did not improve.
Hearing a batch of petitions concerning pollution near the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, a division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale said the “entire municipal machinery is inactive” and questioned how Mumbai could call itself an international city amid the poor state of cleanliness.
“Everywhere there is only filth. We will take action against the BMC officers. Seems like the machinery is not working. You need to have a proper SOP. How are we calling ourselves an international city,” the bench said.
The court observed that while the municipal commissioner and senior officials had initiated some measures, there appeared to be little improvement on the ground, with ward officers failing to take adequate action at several identified garbage dumping spots.
“This is a serious matter. This is something very painful. There are some identified spots in the city where one will always find heaps of garbage lying and still the concerned ward officers do not take any action,” the court said.
The bench warned that it would hold ward officers responsible for failing to maintain cleanliness and hygiene on public roads.
“Now we will hold these officers also accountable and responsible. There needs to be action against them too. The whole city is full of filth. Enough is enough. The BMC is giving us false assurances,” it said.
The court directed the BMC Commissioner to “put the house in order” and fix accountability, saying it was left with no alternative but to pass stricter directions.
“It appears that the entire municipal machinery is inactive. No action is taken against anyone. We will pass drastic order now. There is a limit,” the bench said.
The High Court ordered the BMC to submit its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and provide a list of officers across all 26 wards responsible for maintaining cleanliness and hygiene on public roads.
“The moment we find any litter or garbage on road we will remove the concerned officer. They don’t deserve to be in public service,” the court said.
The bench also suggested that the Maharashtra government consider imposing heavy fines and initiating criminal prosecution against people who litter or dump garbage on public roads.
It further advised the civic body to use social media influencers to promote cleanliness, referring to a suggestion made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past.
The court also directed the BMC to take stringent measures for garbage segregation, saying it wanted the civic body to become a model corporation but that this was not happening.
The matter will be heard further on October 7.
– Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Sep 11, 2026 00:01 IST
