CLEAN UP YOUR ACT, warns BMC to marshals

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wants its clean-up marshals to clean up their act. Following reports of these marshals looting people, failing to issue receipts for fines, abusing and assaulting citizens, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to blacklist contractors whose clean-up marshals have more than three complaints against them.

Vishwas Shankarwar, Deputy Municipal Commissioner from the Solid Waste Management (SWM) department said they were coming up with a new rule, in which the clean-up marshal contractors will be blacklisted if more than three complaints are received against cleanup marshals deployed by the

contractors.

"The move is new and we will hold offenders accountable. Negligent contractors will also be fined up to Rs 20,000," Shankarwar said.

Apart from this, the cleanup marshals will also face action if the public areas where they have been deployed are found littered. The new rule has been put in place to make

the clean-up marshals are more diligent about their work, added the official.

In Mumbai, there are 24 wards and in each ward, at present, there are two cleanup marshals, except in Nward comprising Ghatkopar and B-ward comprising Chandanwadi, Byculla and

others. “After introducing the new rule to keep a check on clean-up marshals, a new tender will be called to appoint contractors. Since the new tender process will take time, the tenure of existing contractors providing cleanup marshals will be extended,” added the officer.