Stop! No littering, No spitting, No defecating

The BMC’s latest and widely-publicised initiative aims to stop errant citizens ruining the city. Speak Up asks Mumbaikars  what ‘civic sense’ means to them, and what  they think of the new initiative

Ingrain discipline and civic sense
Civic sense is when you realise your responsibility towards your city and your country. When we are in other countries, we behave in a disciplined manner. Lack of  proper education is also responsible for the city's poor civic sense.
Violators should be fined heavily to ingrain discipline in them. In India, our jails are already packed, so there is no space for more people, but heavy fines can force people to follow rules and regulations.
The BMC's idea is a good one, but its implementation is more important. They have to enforce this campaign with fair and best intentions, only then can it work. It's a difficult task, but nothing is impossible.
—Arvind Inamdar. Former Director General of Police, Maharashtra

The BMC is right on target
Civic sense is actually nothing more than common sense. People should be responsible for their actions. When the BMC is making massive efforts to maintain the city’s cleanliness by employing more officials, people should also cooperate and support the cleanliness campaign.
Violaters will be fined an amount starting from Rs200 up to Rs20,000, for not shouldering the simple responsibility of maintaining cleanliness. There will be no discrimination regarding the imposition of fines.
The BMC plans will surely work out. With the right manpower and the people’s cooperation I don’t see why it wouldn’t.
—Vijay Balamwar. Assistant Municipal Commissioner

Reward those who obey the law
Civic sense means behaving in a manner that does not disturb others and does not cause any inconvenience to them. It also means keeping our city clean by not spitting paan juice in public places, and not treating our city like one big garbage bin.
Violators should be heavily fined and posting their pictures on the BMC website is a good idea, as people will think twice before committing such filthy acts. 
The BMC should also reward people who go out of their way to maintain the cleanliness of their surroundings, as people also require some sort of motivation to perform a good act. I think this plan will definitely work, just like the campaign against drink driving did.   
—Dr P V Vaidyanathan. Pediatrician

BMC should ban paan
Civic sense is a belief that this is our city and we must keep it clean. For those who spit, it is not a crime, but a normal way of life. They must be made to realise that their behaviour is bad enough to deserve punishment.
Violators should be severely punished. The punishment should be such that it hurts them. Taking photos and putting them up on the website won’t help because the people who spit are not going to log on to the Net. The offenders must be made to clean up their own mess, or imprisoned for a night.
The BMC should not allow products that can be spat out — like paan or ghutka —to be made available to the public. 
—Mandar Khatkul. Art director

Good luck to the clean-up marshalls
Civic sense is your basic knowledge of keeping your city clean. If educated people like us also litter, how can we expect the man living on the street to do anything different? We must educate the public in order to change their habits.
Violators should be fined, and then maybe the fear of losing money could force them to change. Putting the photo of the culprit on the Net is also a good idea and will make their acts all the more shameful.
The BMC has taken a nice initiative and I hope it works. If they are employing people from private companies, then there is a greater chance of making people aware of their civic duties.
—Mandira Bedi. Actor

Littering is not a class malaise
Civic sense is caring for myself, the people around me, and my environment. It is high time we start living like a civilised society. There is a common notion among people that only the uneducated and poorer strata of society litter, but in this city it is the opposite. I have seen people spit paan out of their posh cars. They don’t want their cars to get filthy, but are quite comfortable making the roads dirty.
The violators should be fined to start with. 
The BMC’s plan to have clean-up marshals is an excellent idea. Whether or not this plan works out will depend on how serious the BMC is about its implementation. 
—Pratibha Nathani. Professor, St Xavier’s College

More dustbins is the key
Civic sense should be a common motto in the minds of all citizens. They should learn to keep their surroundings clean. The BMC has provided for dustbins next to all the legal paan shops.
Violators escape easily. Citizens rarely abide by these rules. What’s more is that they hardly pay any fines for breaking the law. I have seen so many people spitting on the road, but when I try to stop them, they don’t care.
The BMC should make more of an effort to maintain cleanliness in the city by providing for dustbins at regular intervals on the city’s roads. The measures that they take rarely work out.
—Shekhar Pujari. Paanwalla

We must educate the poor
Civic Sense actually starts in your own neighborhood and continues into larger society. Making our surroundings a perpetual garbage dump is going against our civic sense. People habitually throw garbage anywhere they like. They aimlessly litter everywhere. They are only bothered about their own houses and don’t care about their wider surroundings.
Violaters should be fined strictly in order to prevent them from littering. They must also be taught that they do have a choice.
The BMC should spread awareness. The poor and the uneducated are not aware of the benefits of cleanliness. So, instead of imposing fines on them, the BMC should try and educate them. 
—Sunetra B. home-maker