Inside Bengaluru's struggle for clean streets

Bengaluru: Bangalore Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), the parastatal tasked with waste collection, hit the headlines not only in Bengaluru but across the city when videos of garbage being dumped in front of people and on the roadside were caught on camera.

Was such a step needed? Was it drastic? Or should it be seen as a pressure tactic?

“Yes.. It was very much needed and should be scaled up and made a regular process. These violators need to be named and shamed for being anti-social,” says Kochhu Sankar, a senior citizen volunteer, who also coordinates Horamavu RWA Collective. 

However, he also thinks BSWML should be taken to task for auto tippers not reaching on time for door-to-door collection and for not being empathetic to residents who need an alternate way to dispose of waste.

“Such an extreme step can be implemented only where the contractors handle garbage collection. If garbage collection is not happening as per the rules, the concerned officials need to be punished by having garbage dumped in front of their respective houses. If this can happen, then only levy a fine on the normal public,” says Datta Saraf, a citizen activist from Nagarabhavi, Bengaluru.

Rakhi Anil, who was active in the non-governmental space in handling dry waste, agrees with this. 

“First, they should conduct proper citizen awareness campaigns in wards and ensure that collection vehicle times are fixed. Then they should fine those found dumping. Only then should they resort to such drastic measures. The current measure sounds similar to the instant justice of demolitions carried out by UP and other such governments,” she says.

‘BSWML itself is breaking the NGOG rule’

“The SWM rules stipulate ‘no garbage on ground’ (NGOG) rule, which has been raised constantly by the National Green Tribunal, high court and supreme courts in cases related to garbage collection and disposal. How can a government body dump waste and break the NGOG rule?” asks Balasubramanian, the president of the BBMP Garbage Contractors Association.

He points out that many households depend on maids who finish their work only by 9.30-10 am, by which time the collection autos would have moved on. 

“If the autos go on collection duty at a time convenient for people, they do give the waste to the autos. We have fixed issues in slums in Tippasandra, Domlur and Appareddy Palya by spreading awareness. People gave waste to the autos at 6.45-7 am, after this,” he explains.

He calls the ‘abhiyana’ a ploy to hide the inefficiency of marshals who are tasked with controlling the blackspots. “The monitoring system would have failed in the areas where there are blackspots,” he adds, asking the BSWML to fix the collection before dumping waste back on people’s doors. 

He also says the BSWML is taking a top-down approach and has not discussed the issue with stakeholders, including contractors, ward officials, and the public. Introducing a second round of waste collection in specific areas identified by marshals, pourakarmikas, and ward officials would help solve issues, he feels.

Will shock change behaviour?

Many believe the shock value will change people's behaviour. However, a behavioural scientist from a premier institute says the impact of such measures can be temporary, and the behaviour won't change until the root cause of garbage dumping in public spaces is addressed. 

“Such measures can create subgroups among people who will feel targeted, which can gather public support and cause unrest. City governments in Japan and England have experimented with this, but the result has not been encouraging,” says the scientist. 

The United Kingdom’s Redbridge Council has introduced a ‘Wall-of-shame’ video series featuring littering offenders caught on camera. The public is asked to identify the offenders. There is no clarity on the impact of this measure. 

Japan’s Fukushima introduced a policy in March 2025 to name repeat offenders and display their names on a website, but the status of this project is also unknown.

Intensive cleaning drives as a solution

Bengaluru North City Corporation has undertaken a mass cleanliness drive covering flyovers, bus shelters, main roads, junctions, underpasses, and roads. The seven assembly constituencies will compete to get the cleanest assembly constituency award.

Senior officials will assess the results today based on visual cleanliness and the amount of waste collected. Teams that effectively carried out tasks such as filling potholes, disposing of construction debris, managing waste, controlling mosquitoes, and clearing encroachments from footpaths will be identified. A total of Rs 5 lakh has been set aside for this, with Rs 1 lakh for the first prize. 

Sunil Kumar Pommala, Bengaluru North City Corporation Commissioner, sees this as a step that sets an example of what visual cleanliness looks like and spreads awareness and enthusiasm among the public.

“We should be right in our approach, only then can we fine the citizens for not falling in line. This is my thought. I’m hoping this drive will set an example for the rest of the city,” says Sunil Kumar.

'Marshals on the edge'

For the marshals monitoring waste disposal in wards, residents littering public spaces and creating blackspots is a perennial problem that fines have not fixed.

Rajbir Singh, chief of marshals operating under BSWML, says there are only 224 marshals for solid waste management, hence they depend on citizen surveillance and CCTVs to catch offenders. “Citizens record videos and send them to us, after which we identify and fine them,” he adds.

A marshal superintendent who did not want to be named told DH that marshals face threats, especially from influential people. Trying to control the elements that dump on the street, they live a risky life, prone to rude behaviour and other dangers.

“Sometimes people behave rudely and ask us who permitted us to videograph them when they're caught red-handed littering. The absence of street lights in peripheral areas can be a challenge at times. If we chase people coming in vehicles to dump garbage, we can’t chase them. If something, such as an accident, happens in the process, that will be on us,” he adds.

Has the BSWML been doing enough to raise awareness? Marshals have been fining offenders often and collecting fines for a long time. 

BSWML clarifies

Karee Gowda, the chief executive officer of BSWML, clarifies that the dumping of garbage in front of offenders’ houses or establishments is not a ‘festival’ but an awareness drive. “It does not cost us extra. There is no financial loss. We have collected Rs 5 lakh from 357 offenders until now,” he adds.

“We have conducted this drive only where auto tippers go and collect waste,” he clarifies, adding that there is no proposal for a second round of waste collection, because such a system would significantly increase collection costs. 

Kasa kiosks with a four-way segregation bin system would be provided wherever there are blackspots, thereby helping the public put their waste away if they miss the collection, he reveals.

“The new garbage tender will solve many issues. The current capacity of 750 kgs will increase to 2 cubic metres in the new tender, and there will be four-way segregation compartments for wet, dry, sanitary, and inert waste. This will solve the issue of autos becoming full by the time they reach homes,” he adds. The BSWML is also removing sofas and commodes dumped on the roadside, thereby improving the city's visual cleanliness.

At the root of the issue is BSWML’s commitment to segregation at source, which is important for managing waste scientifically. The BSWML officials took the media on a tour of the waste-to-energy plant in Bidadi, which was a product of an agreement between Karnataka Power Corporation Limited and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (now Greater Bengaluru Authority). 

The city had to supply 600 tonnes of clean, dry waste with a high calorific value as part of the agreement. Officials had also hinted that the city would have more such power plants at the four Integrated Solid Waste Management systems planned, with a scope for 2400 tonnes of clean, dry waste production in the city if waste segregation is 100%.

‘A tactical step'

An expert working with the government to solve blackspot issues says the issue is not as simple as it looks.

“If I park a vehicle wrongly, as a first step, they slap a challan. I may or may not pay it online. The next step is to lock the vehicle, which inconveniences me, and I pay the fine, but I’ll be careful. The third step is to tow the vehicle away, which is even more inconvenient, with additional fines and the effort of getting it back. The BSWML is following the same structure,” he says.

“This is a tactical move, because nothing else has worked. There is helplessness among officials and marshals; they are taken to task regularly by politicians and higher officials, while people break the law with impunity. Biggest violators are really powerful,” he adds.

“They have fined only a fraction of households, which has sent a message to 30 lakh houses in the city and to all the offenders. The entire city is talking about it. This should be looked at as a technique to make people fall in line,” he feels, adding that there is ‘name-and-shame’ only on a hyperlocal level, which still sends a message.