High-rises make Mumbai Raj Bhavan a trash dump

MUMBAI: There is never a shortage of ways in which Indians toss out their trash anytime, anywhere. In a curious case of rampant trash disposal, a tranquil patch of the 47-acre Raj Bhavan complex on the southern tip of the Malabar Point — despite being sheltered by a cliff and enshrined by the sea — has become the target of an aerial barrage of trash, allegedly dropping out of posh high-rises that fringe the bhavan’s lower gates and landing with a splat on the western side of the compound.
Ninety casual labourers and 35 forest guards, with help from an environmental NGO, recently cleared the two-acre slope at the bhavan of 18 truckloads of garbage in 20 days. The mounting pile of garbage revealed itself after the Governor’s bungalow, a grade I heritage precinct with a history of almost three centuries, opened its strictly guarded doors to let in people in the morning. Visitors thronged to experience the sunrise and seawaters from the rare green sanctum.
But turning a corner, what greeted them was the sight and stench of a mountain of rubbish peeping out of thick foliage—wine and beer bottles, torn books and chappals, used sanitary pads, pet poop, debris, broken kitchenware and countless plastic bags spilling over with rotting waste.
“It seems this had been happening for years and we did not realise it as this stretch was hidden within the mile-long tract of a thick forest inside Raj Bhavan. Only when we started clearing part of the area to plant trees and visitors started coming in, our attention was drawn to the dumping menace—not just household garbage but sewage from these buildings has been leaking into Raj Bhavan’s compound,” said Vasant Salunke, comptroller of the governor’s households.
Following BMC inaction and inertia of housing societies to contain the litterbugs despite notices from Raj Bhavan to the secretaries of the 12 buildings on the affluent Walkeshwar stretch bordering the bhavan walls, Salunke took on the task of clearing the filth on a “war-footing”.
“While the housing societies neither help nor co-operate, BMC’s insensitivity to the situation has been appalling,” said Salunke. “We wrote several times to Vishwas Mote, assistant municipal commissioner of Malabar Hill’s D ward, but unfortunately and embarrassingly, BMC refused to take action. Instead, it directed us to the police. Is it not their job to tackle the housing societies and ensure proper disposal of garbage?”
Salunkhe said the task was challenging as the gradient was steep and slippery. “Eventually, 18 truckloads of garbage were removed. We planted 275 saplings of fruit and flowering trees, and plan to expand the cover to at least 500,” said Salunke, keeping his fingers crossed that residents of these rarefied apartments will be mindful of plants growing below when they bend forward with their stash of trash.