Mumbai: BMC plans war room to track cleanliness, orders stricter field checks

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC is planning to set up a centralised ldquowar roomrdquo to strengthen monitoring of cleanliness operations across the city as part of efforts to improve onground implementation Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has directed officials to ensure stricter supervision including regular field visits by wardlevel administratorsThe directions were issued during a review meeting of the Solid Waste Management SWM department held at the civic headquarters on April 9 Senior officials including Deputy Commissioners Prashant Gaikwad and Kiran Dighavkar were presentAccording to officials the proposed war room will function as a central control system to track cleanlinessrelated work across Mumbai enabling quicker response and better coordination between departmentsFocus on consistent execution and microplanningBhide emphasised that cleanliness must be treated as an ongoing process rather than a onetime exercise She called for ldquomicroplanningrdquo of road cleaning particularly on hightraffic stretches such as coastal roads and major highways where heavy vehicular movement poses challengesTo address this the BMC is considering the deployment of mechanised cleaning systems using specialised vehicles designed for urban conditions Officials have been asked to explore collaborations with reputed institutions to develop customised solutions suited to Mumbairsquos requirementsThe commissioner also suggested that select highfootfall locations be developed as ldquomodel clean areasrdquo to set benchmarks alongside public awareness efforts to encourage citizens to maintain hygiene standardsElectric vehicles and waste management upgradesThe civic body highlighted its increasing reliance on electric vehicles for waste collection Around 10 per cent of the BMCrsquos solid waste collection fleet now comprises electric vehicles making it one of the first municipal corporations in India to deploy highcapacity evehicles at this scaleMumbai currently generates approximately 7200 metric tonnes of solid waste every day which is processed and disposed of using scientific methods officials saidUnder a revised servicebased contract system the BMC has streamlined its fleet operations While the earlier system deployed 1196 vehicles improved capacity in the new fleet has reduced the number to 988 officials added The vehicles have also been given a new colour scheme for easier identificationSegregation efforts and citizen participationThe city currently has 46 dry waste segregation centres supported by 94 dedicated vehicles operating roundtheclock In addition the BMC has rolled out a specialised service for the collection of domestic sanitary waste which is being used by a growing number of establishmentsOfficials also reiterated the importance of public participation in maintaining cleanliness The civic body has urged residents and businesses to actively take part in initiatives such as the lsquoMumbai Clean Leaguersquo aimed at encouraging community involvement in sanitation efforts