Cong, BJP stage walkout over waste mgmt notice

The civic body's circular on waste segregation and composting being made mandatory for housing societies and bulk generators from October 2 led to arguments at the BMC general body meeting on Monday.

Members of all parties slammed the civic administration for not consulting them before taking the move. Besides, members of the Congress and the BJP staged a walkout, claiming they were not allowed to air their views.

During the meeting, the ruling Shiv Sena alleged that the administration again insulted Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar by not taking him into confidence while taking the decision.

Yashwant Jadhav, a Shiv Sena corporator and leader of House at BMC, alleged that the administration has insulted Mumbai as it did not discuss the issue with city's first citizen. "Insulting a mayor is nothing but insulting Mumbaikars as the mayor represents the whole city," said Jadhav.

Earlier, BMC's leader of opposition Ravi Raja submitted a statement opposing the civic administration move to make waste segregation and composting from October 2. Raja cited Section 61 (C) of Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, which makes lifting and managing waste is an obligatory duty of BMC.

All political parties supported the statement made by Raja and sought Mayor to take a decision against civic administration's move. BJP group leader Manoj Kotak said, "The responsibility of collecting garbage and composting lie with the BMC as the agency collects tax from residents." He added that by issuing such kind of circular, the civic administration is trying to create havoc among residents.