In response to the significant rise in chikungunya, dengue, and other infectious diseases in the city, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation to provide details about the city’s garbage collection system.
During a public interest litigation hearing, a division bench comprising Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Abhay Mantri voiced their dissatisfaction with the performance of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and pulled it up for not keeping the city hygienic.
During the hearing, Adv Tejal Agre pointed out that the city’s failure to collect garbage and maintain cleanliness in playgrounds, gardens, and open plots has led to a rise in deadly diseases such as dengue, chikungunya, and other viral infections. Taking serious note of this information, the court questioned NMC’s counsel, Adv Sudhir Puranik, about the garbage collection system in the city. He responded that the NMC had contracted two private agencies to manage the collection of household, hospital, and other wastes. Each agency was assigned five zones in the city. Together, these agencies have employed 1,897 workers for garbage collection, while the NMC itself has 5,164 employees responsible for cleaning roads, markets, and other public areas.
The court directed the deputy commissioner of the NMC to submit detailed information regarding the role of each agency, the specific duties assigned to each employee by the private agencies, and the tasks carried out by NMC employees.
The court instructed the deputy commissioner of the NMC to provide detailed information within one week regarding the role of each agency, the duties assigned to each employee by the private agencies, and the responsibilities carried out by NMC employees.