Mumbai: Ward officers to tour cities for waste handling lessons

Pic for representation

The chief of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Ajoy Mehta, is once again planning to start a trend, which earlier failed to yield the desired results. Just the way corporators used to go on study tours sponsored by the civic body, now ward officers will have to tour different cities to learn about their solid waste management techniques.
Earlier this month, Mehta had instructed some of the officers to visit cities like Ahmedabad, Goa, Indore and Bangalore and find out how they managed their wastes. They have also been asked to prepare reports on the visits and present them by next month.

Swachh cities
According to civic sources, two ward officers have already visited a couple of cities and are in the process of preparing the reports. As Mumbai has failed to make it to the top of the list of 'swachh' cities, the municipal commissioner wants the ward officers to study the waste disposal models of those cities, which have been ranked higher. Sources said that after the directive was given, some deputy chief engineers of the solid waste management department visited Goa and Indore, while two ward officers toured Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Goa.

Speaking to mid-day, Vishvas Shankarwar, deputy municipal commissioner (solid waste management), said, "The civic chief has directed the ward officers to visit different cities and study their waste disposal methods. They have also been asked to give presentations on what can be implemented in Mumbai." Requesting anonymity, a civic official said, "The officers who have already toured some cities, have started preparing their reports. While the administration has a plan in place for processing waste on a large scale, these models will be implemented at the ward level."

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