MBMC wakes up from slumber…
Bhayandar : Immediately after The Free Press Journal carried an elaborate news report (Illegal Dumping: MBMC’s Anti-Debris Squad Plays Truant) on June 10, exposing the alarming rise in cases of debris dumping, the anti-debris squad of the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) swung into action and intensified their vigil in the region.
Consequently, the squad caught five trucks that were illegally dumping construction debris at two eco-sensitive spots in the twin-city.
While the trucks were impounded, the revenue officials along with their MBMC counterparts lodged FIRs against the drivers and truck owners under the relevant sections of the Land Revenue Code and the Maharashtra Requisitioning (and Control) of Motor Vehicles Act, 1965, at the Mira Road and Kashimira police stations.
All the five truckers were from Mumbai who entered the city at night and dumped building material, debris and other waste material especially in eco-sensitive areas like mangrove belts, creeks, wetlands, coastal regulation zones and even nullahs.
Alarmed by the massive dumping of debris, the MBMC had introduced the concept of 24×7 anti-debris dumping squad in November, 2017 to check and prevent such illegal activities which not only posed a serious threat to the fragile eco-system but also increased the risk of flooding during the rainy season.
However, despite an alarming rise in cases of dumping, the anti-debris squad has played blind to the illegal activities.
“The squad has been strictly been asked to remain on alert and prevent the illegalities,” said a senior officer. The next-to-zero achievement in the action taken report spoke volumes about the deliberate apathy of the anti-debris squad towards controlling the dumping menace.