Mumbai, July 15, 2026: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the BMC to strictly enforce solid waste management rules across the city, stressing that garbage dumped on public streets creates serious hygiene and waterlogging problems, particularly during the monsoon.
The court also reminded civic authorities of the recent Pune landfill tragedy, cautioning that Mumbai must prevent a similar disaster.
Court Seeks Strict Enforcement
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe was hearing a batch of petitions concerning pollution, foul odour, gas emissions, and health risks faced by residents living near the Kanjurmarg dumping ground.
Referring to the July 8 landfill collapse at Moshi in Pune, where a huge mound of untreated solid waste and industrial by-products gave way after heavy rain and crashed onto a two-storey building, killing nine people, the court said Mumbai must not witness such an incident.
“Such an incident should not happen here. There are tall garbage mounds here too,” the bench observed.
The court directed the BMC Commissioner to issue strict directions to all ward officers to ensure that roads and public places remain free of garbage and to place those directions before the court. It said every ward officer is duty-bound to ensure that solid waste is not dumped on public streets.
The judges observed that unless precautions are taken at the ground level, “the complexities in collection and disposal of solid waste would not only amount to a nuisance but also cause difficulties in its effective handling.”
Focus On Civic Accountability
The bench made it clear that “no citizen is free to throw garbage on public streets in Mumbai” and said accountability must be fixed by taking strict action against violators. It also suggested greater use of CCTV cameras to identify those littering and said penalties should be implemented effectively.
The court noted that maintaining hygiene is the responsibility of the civic body even in notified slum areas awaiting redevelopment.
“The BMC and ward officers cannot shirk their responsibility only because the area falls under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority,” it said.
Referring to Indore, which has consistently been ranked India's cleanest city, the judges said Mumbai could achieve similar results with commitment and strict enforcement.
“Indore recently got the tag of cleanest city in India. It could achieve this only because of the commitment of its civic body officials. Why cannot the same be done for Mumbai? It is not difficult to achieve the same, provided there is a will to do so,” the court observed.
Directions On Compliance
The bench also emphasised the need to sensitise citizens about waste segregation and cleanliness. During the hearing, Justice Kulkarni said segregation of waste must begin at the source and criticised the practice of spitting in public places.
“Spitting is a national hobby in our country,” the court remarked, suggesting that the existing fine of Rs 200 for spitting should be increased to Rs 2,000.
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On compliance with directions issued by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the court noted that the BMC had acted on several of the 22 issues flagged by the pollution watchdog.
It directed the civic body to submit a compliance report to the MPCB within 15 days, asked the board to continue monitoring particulate matter and other pollution concerns, and posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks.
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