From April 5, the Clean-up Marshal will be discontinued. But to take up the responsibilities, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is strengthening the Nuisance Detection (ND) Squad. In the ND Squad, there area total of 118 positions. Out of these 118, 97 remain vacant because the clean-up marshals were previously assigned the task to charge fines to citizens who were spotted spitting, defecating, or littering in public spaces. As the clean-up marshals will be discontinuing their job from April 5, BMC is filling in these 97 vacant posts, to ensure that action is taken on time against these activities and cleanliness is maintained in Mumbai.
Until 2006, in every ward, five to six ND Squad staff members were placed. They were responsible for maintaining cleanliness and penalising people who engaged in nuisance activities that led to littering the localities. But, in 2007, the civic body came up with the clean-up marshal scheme and replaced the ND squads. At the same time, the staff members left or retired from the squad, and the positions have been vacant since then. Now, since the clean-up marshal scheme is being discontinued, the ND squad will be back on Mumbai roads to take up the charge.
A civic official said, “We have re-launched clean-up marshals several times in the previous few years, but numerous complaints from citizens accusing the marshals of overcharging and extorting money have caused us to halt the project. Appointing personnel to keep an eye on and deal with violators is still necessary, though. Our ND squad currently consists of 18 members, and we will shortly start hiring to cover the 97 open positions.”
Also Read: Public Littering in Mumbai? You Could Now Pay Up to Rs 1,000 in Fines
In the meantime, in order to enforce more stringent standards for public cleaning throughout the city, the BMC has suggested a set of updated solid waste management bylaws. The penalty for spitting on roadways and littering has been raised from Rs 200 to Rs 500 and Rs 250, respectively, under the new regulations. Additionally, the penalty for bathing in public places has increased from Rs 100 to Rs 300.