Corrupt marshals binned , city loses chance to clean up…………Sudhir Suryawanshi
BMC’s high-profile campaign ends amidst murky allegations of extortion, blackmail
BMC’s high-profile campaign ends amidst murky allegations of extortion, blackmail
When the BMC had announced with much fanfare its ‘Clean-up Marshals’ scheme, it promised the city a group of devoted watchdogs who would make Mumbai cleaner. But tainted by numerous cases of corruption and rampant mismanagement, this scheme is being shut down just two years after its inception.
As complaints of extortion against these clean-up marshals mount, the city’s Mayor Shraddha Jadhav has come down hard on them, deciding to abolish the entire scheme in less than a month from now.
“We have been receiving many complaints against these marshals. They are framing innocent people and extracting money from them. We’re here to serve people, not harass them. If we can start a scheme, we should also be able to end it if it is a failure,” Jadhav told Mumbai Mirror.
“All group leaders are in favour of closing down the scheme. All we have to do now is to pass a resolution putting an end to it,” she added. The next civic group leaders meeting will be held next week, when the decision will be formalised. There are 489 clean-up marshals in Mumbai, who work in three eight-hour shifts in different regions of the city. They were first appointed in November, 2008, and trained to prevent littering and spitting, washing vehicles on the roads, bathing in public places, and ensuring medical waste is disposed of properly.
The marshals are not paid any salaries, but get 50 per cent of any fines they collect on a monthly basis.
Of the several charges against them, the primary is a system some of them have been using to blackmail doctors in the city’s hospitals and clinics. “These marshals throw blood-stained cotton swabs or injection needles within the dispensary premises at night. Then they click photographs, and turn up at the hospital the next day alleging that the doctors have not been disposing of medical waste properly. Threatening to tarnish their image by making the issue public, they then demand up to Rs 20,000 to suppress the case. It has become a systematic, money-making racket,” said Shiv Sena corporator Mangesh Satamkar.
“Several dispensaries have complained about this. We’re really fed up, and have therefore asked for this scheme to be closed down permanently,” Satamkar added.
His allegation was corroborated by gynaecologists Bipin Pandit and Mohan Gadam. “The marshals planted needles in the dustbin, took pictures of them, and then asked me for Rs 20,000. I complained to the BMC about them,” Pandit said.
Gadam, who runs a clinic in Andheri, added: “Even though we were following all medical disposal norms, the marshals tried to blackmail us. We’ve been victimised by them for long.”
Though BMC’s chief engineer BP Patil defended the marshals, saying he had received good feedback about them, Mayor Jadhav called them an utter failure. “They have totally failed to keep the city clean. Instead of them, we should just bring back our old system of Nuisance Detectors to take care of cleanliness. If needed, we can also take the help of volunteers,” she said.
Niyaz Wanu, the NCP group leader, also confirmed that scheme was being disbanded. “We’ve seen the clean-up marshals scheme has not worked out. If a scheme is not working out after two years, we have every right to close down it,” he said.
* Marshals have also been accused of blackmailing doctors in city’s hospitals and clinics