At least 12,000 families living in 240 buildings in Chandivli’s Sangharsh Nagar have been facing problems arising from garbage accumulation on every street and corner of their locality. A total of 67 employees from self-help groups (SHGs) contracted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are responsible for cleaning this locality every day as part of the Swachh Mumbai Prabodhan Abhiyan (SMPA). According to the residents of this area, no one turns up to clean their locality.
“The result is the accumulation of piles of garbage, household solid waste, plastic and other recyclable waste materials, such as bedding, and construction debris. During the monsoon, these piles of garbage become breeding grounds for mosquitoes,” said Gautam Shirsath, 28, a resident of Sangharsh Nagar.
The locality houses those rehabilitated from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) about 15 years ago, and has been informally categorised by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as vertical-slum dwellers. Due to this, civic services, such as solid waste management, are provided to the residents through the SMPA, a scheme re-purposed from the Slum Adoption Scheme in 2013.
Under SMPA, BMC contracts SHGs to provide waste management services to such localities. Four such groups, comprising 67 cleaners, have been contracted at a cost of Rs 600 per person per day by the civic body.
SHGs are responsible for cleaning internal roads, internal drains, dustbins, carrying out health and cleanliness awareness programmes, holding public meetings, conducting awareness programmes for women and children, and submitting regular status updates to the BMC.
In response to complaints from the residents, BMC on Wednesday issued notices to the four self-help groups responsible for cleaning the area, giving them seven days to provide explanations for not completing work they have been contracted for. Assistant Commissioner of the L Ward, Dhanaji Herlekar, said, “After this was brought to our notice, we have issued notices to the SHGs for not doing their work. We have given them seven days to provide an explanation and complete the work. As a one-time measure, BMC’s ward office will clean this area so residents do not face any issues going forward.”
