Segregation, collection and disposal of garbage is a very important subject but neglected by the public, BMC and the government. The government merely speaks about development but do not give thought to creation of a welfare state. We have failed to take the population growth very seriously and no concrete steps are being taken to address this issue. In a city as big as Mumbai, proper policy must be devised to dispose garbage effectively. The metropolis generates approximately 7,500 metric tonnes of garbage daily and every resident of the city generates about 630 grams of waste everyday.
Even though the quantity of waste generated in Mumbai will only increase the metropolis doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure for managing it. The Brihanmumbai Muncipal Corporation (BMC) had asked residents to segregate wet and dry waste but they are not following these norms. As per the Development Planning Regulations prepared by the civic body, the projected population in 2020 will be approximately 1, 35, 00, 000 and hence the garbage generated will be 9,000 MT per day i.e. 20% more than the present quantity.
Providing a special educator in each secondary school is a good idea. The experienced faculty can interact with school children studying in secondary medium and give them insight into practical things like garbage management, fire prevention, first aid techniques and other things like issues connected with water and electric power etc. If the students wish to learn a particular skill, arrangements for that can be made. For e.g. if a group of students want to learn about refrigerators and air conditioners or simple things like tube lights etc; the school can invite the manufacturers to give demonstration. Thus students can gain more knowledge about these devices and their functioning.
District authorities, the police and ward officers must check illegal Bangladeshi population staying along railway tracks. Why do the state government and the Railway authorities permit construction of shanties next to the tracks? Most of them possess documents like PAN card, ration card, aadhar card. Public health and education are the issues that characterize a welfare state but the nexus between self seeking politicians and bureaucrats negates all efforts.
The whistle blowers connected with the Vyapan scam deserve to be congratulated because they are bringing to light the obnoxious side of our governance, despite risking their own lives. The collapse of moral values in our officialdom (who prefer to align with the corrupt politicians) is matter of grave concern. All of us must take steps to control the rising population.