BMC to discontinue clean-up marshals' services from April 4 after complaints of 'unsatisfactory service'

If any penalties are imposed by the clean-up marshals after April 4, citizens should contact the administrative department (ward office) concerned, BMC said. Representational pic

Taking serious note of continuous complaints regarding the representatives of ‘Clean-Up Marshals' appointed for cleanliness under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) Solid Waste Management Department and the ‘Swachh Mumbai Abhiyan,' Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani has ordered the discontinuation of their services.

Accordingly, the appointment of these representatives and the agencies concerned will be terminated from April 4.

Citizens are requested to take note of this decision, BMC stared. If any penalties are imposed by the clean-up marshals after April 4, citizens should contact the administrative department (ward office) concerned, the Mumbai civic body said.

The ‘Swachh Mumbai Abhiyan' aims to be more citizen-centric and create awareness on cleanliness.

The BMC has been conducting various initiatives and awareness campaigns under the guidance of Gagrani and Additional Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Joshi.

As part of this, the ‘Clean-Up Marshal' initiative was introduced, appointing marshals across all 24 administrative wards in Mumbai. Each ward had 30 marshals deployed through 12 different agencies. The implementation guidelines and principles were also defined under this scheme.

Over the past one year, clean-up marshals have collected fines totaling Rs 4,93,73,712. While enforcing cleanliness rules, they were expected to educate citizens on cleanliness norms and ensure compliance.

However, complaints received by the BMC revealed that many marshals violated several regulations.

Violations included failure to visit designated locations as directed by administrative departments, targeting construction sites where action was not required, frequent absenteeism despite the expectation of 24/7 monitoring, negligence in biometric attendance, overcharging citizens beyond prescribed fines, operating outside designated zones, and imposing fines at hotels, banquet halls, hoardings, and billboards, which were not part of their contractual scope.

Moreover, their inappropriate behavior over the past year has tarnished the BMC's reputation.

Consequently, the contracts of all agencies associated with the ‘Clean-Up Marshals' initiative will be terminated from April 4, 2025.

The operations of these agencies across all administrative wards will be halted, and penalties have been imposed on the agencies based on citizen complaints.

While the ‘Clean-Up Marshal' initiative is being discontinued, the implementation of the ‘Swachh Mumbai Abhiyan' will continue, and the BMC will soon introduce new measures, as stated by Deputy Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) Shri Kiran Dighavkar.