In some metros, it’s near-impossible to dump garbage in public places and get away with it. Handing over unsegregated waste will also invite a penalty. The local bodies in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Indore employ clean-up marshals, who have to keep an eye out for people who litter in public places, and collect a fine from them.
These marshals may be in uniform or plainclothes, and this element of uncertainty is sometimes sufficient for residents to fall in line, and not litter public spaces.
In Bengaluru, this initiative was started last year on a pilot run. Initially, it was meant to be run only for two months, but continued longer, and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the administrative body of Bengaluru metropolis, has collected lakhs of rupees as penalty from litterbugs.
“The initiative was a success,” says Colonel Rajbir Singh, chief marshal officer with the BBMP, a retired army official who works closely with the Palike. In five months, marshals collected ₹ 8.35 lakh as fines.
Recently, the BBMP Council got an approval from the State Government to extend the initiative to the other parts of the city. The civic body has tied up with Karnataka Ex-servicemen Welfare Society to hire, train and deploy these retired army personnel, who are empowered to fine those caught littering. It employs 240 marshals at all the 198 wards in Bengaluru. The Government has allocated an annual budget of ₹ 8.48 crore for these marshals.
“Preventing and educating residents is the first task of these marshals. However, when residents don’t toe the line they can be penalised, anything from ₹100 to ₹5,000,” says Colonel Singh.
The central business districts, and areas around lakes and markets are some of the main target areas for these marshals, who will be on the lookout even during night.
Indore, ranked among the top cities in the Swachh Survekshan ranking, also has such a system where resident-volunteers are paid a honorary amount ranging from ₹ 5000 to ₹ 7000 to ensure people only give segregated waste to the conservancy staff. Or, these volunteers would segregate the waste in front of the resident to make them feel ashamed for their negligence.
In Mumbai, marshals are also fined if the area under their watch is not kept clean, whereby they are made accountable for the success of the initiative. According to a report in The Hindu , in 2018, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation tightened the rules governing clean-up marshals after receiving complaints from residents. Repeated complaints about accumulated garbage at the place that comes under a marshal can lead to the blacklisting of the marshal. Fifty percent of the money collected through fines goes to the civic body and the rest to the agency employing these marshals.
In Chennai, Harrington Road Residents Association employed marshals a few years ago to ensure people did not park their vehicles on the stretch that got a makeover with new pavements, a median and street lights. Here, a few residents sponsored the salaries of the marshals, who were mainly deployed during the rush hour. These men also regulate traffic and pull down unauthorized posters.
