MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF GREATER MUMBAI  

Press Release

28th February 2006  

Municipal Solid Waste (Prohibition of Littering and Regulation of Segregation, Storage, Delivery and Collection) Rules 2006
(maybe also called: BMC Solid Waste Rules 2006)

[Full text of Rules available on www.mcgm.gov.in]

These Rules are based on the mandatory requirements and guidelines incorporated in the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, with appropriate adaptations required for the specific situation of Mumbai city.  

Guiding Principles in the framing of the Rules  

The following principles have been followed:

1. Do-ability: The Rules have been framed keeping in mind the ease and effectiveness of their implementation, including specific rules for situations that require a different approach.
2. Citizen friendly / humane approach. The Rules are focused on the generator of waste and his / her individual or collective ability to comply with these Rules. E.g.: There is a specified familiarisation/warning period in the Rules for the generators to change their current practices.  
3. Responsible behaviour: The Rules encourage responsible behaviour by all generators, by improving the public perception and understanding of the waste problem.
4. Involvement and empowerment of Local Area Citizen Groups: The Rules encourage the active participation of Councillors, Corporates, Govt. Bodies, and Local Area Citizen Groups that will enable BMC to better implement the Rules, and significantly increase Cleanliness of the city, through change in citizens’ attitude and behaviour.
5. Clarity of Rules:  The Rules have explanations and examples where required in order to demystify and simplify them for the users.
6. BMC’s seriousness of intent: BMC’s seriousness of intent in not only implementing and enforcing these Rules, but also in building partnerships with Civil Society Organisations for the promotion of efficient delivery of civic services is demonstrated through a statement of its own obligatory responsibilities in the Rules.
7. Transparency: These Rules promote the transparency of all the processes involved, and sharing of all information publicly.
8. Joint review and collaborative working: The Rules incorporate a collaborative process of working between the BMC and the NGO Council, including a joint review of the processes and structures. They also incorporate a system of periodic reporting to the Standing Committee of the Corporation.
9. Enforceability: The successful implementation of the Rules depends on its enforceability, and hence focus areas for enforcement have been stated.
10. Improved perception / understanding of BMC’s functioning: The Rules have been framed keeping in mind the larger context of the BMC’s structure and functioning, and with linkages to other Rules and Acts, where applicable, so as to bring about a significant improvement in the Solid waste management programme of the city. 

Objectives

The overall objectives of these Rules are:

• improving solid waste management practices so as to reduce environmental pollution and improve the quality of life in the city
• a clean city with increased public health and hygiene levels
• no visible waste in public spaces
• segregation of waste into specified types
• maximum recycling of waste
• maximum local composting of bio-degradable waste
• minimising the quantity of waste received at the land-fill
• minimising transport and handling costs
• preventing choking of drains and flooding of streets caused by waste
• improving public awareness and understanding of the waste problem
• promoting transparency of the processes involved, and sharing of information publicly
• facilitating formal BMC-Civil Society partnerships
• encouraging the involvement of Municipal Councillors
• strengthening and empowering citizen groups for more effective and sustainable participation in the enforcement of the Rules.

Annual targets:

Specific annual targets shall be fixed ward-wise, where applicable, by the Chief Engineer of the Solid Waste Management Department in consultation with the Assistant Commissioners of the respective administrative wards and the Deputy Municipal Commissioners of the respective Zones, with clear criteria for selection / prioritising where applicable, for every financial year (1^st April – 31^st March) and shall include the following:

1. Reduction in tons / day of the non-inert waste reaching landfills.
2. Number of "Clean Mumbai Zones" zones to be established including roads, beaches and other important areas to prevent littering and other nuisances and to ensure complete cleanliness at all times.
3. Percentage of waste generated to be segregated completely at source and collected separately.
4. Number of waste bins on public roads to be removed and number of such bins to be managed with arrangements for segregated storage of waste.
5. Number of composting units to be set up – (beginning with bulk waste generators).
6. Percentage of waste lifted throughout the city to be covered for point to point collection / collected at source.
7. Number of Construction & Debris Waste collection and processing centres to be set up.
8. Number of slums to be taken up for coverage under Dattak Vasti Yojana
9. Number of target stakeholders to be covered by awareness and training programs
10. Number of public and slum community toilets to be upgraded
11. Number of new public and slum community toilets to be set up

New partnerships and processes:  

The Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation Solid Waste (Prohibition of Littering and Regulation of Segregation, Storage, Delivery and Collection) Rules 2006, has been prepared by BMC with the inputs and experience of the Department of Solid Waste Management, the NGO Council, consultants appointed, and several individuals, citizen groups and other organizations.   

The drafting of these Rules has happened through a unique collaborative process between the BMC and Civil Society Organisations that was made possible through the NGO Council.

The NGO Council was formed in Aug. 2005, recognising that institutionalized partnership between municipal bodies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)/ civil society organizations (CSOs) is critical for promoting Good City Governance.  The urgency and imperative necessity of forging this partnership was sharply highlighted by the crisis that Mumbai experienced in the wake of the flooding on July 26, 2005 . BMC has entered into an MoU with this Council of Non-Governmental Organisations of Mumbai for a formalized collaborative working structure. This Council is a representative body of Civil Society Organisations and the NGO sector in Mumbai, and comprises a mix of organisations with complementary expertise covering different concerns.   

These Rules were drafted through an extremely transparent, interactive and consultative process over a period of 3 months where the BMC shared its initial Draft Rules with the NGO Council. Thereafter, a Working Group was set up of over 100 NGO’s / organisations/ experts who were specifically interested in Cleanliness / Waste management of the city. A series of meetings were held following this, wherein BMC officials also participated, leading to the preparation of a document called the 'Policy Framework Recommendations for a Clean Mumbai”. The broad policy recommendation outlines in this document were accepted by the BMC and then integrated into the new Rules under formation. A continuous process of dialogue and receiving feedback from all stake-holders was maintained at every stage of the framing of the Rules, leading to the final draft which was submitted to the Group.  

Details of all meetings and discussions held for the framing of these Rules is available on the BMC website and on www.kamayog.org