Okay, so you’ve been watching that pile of garbage grow
bigger and bigger and you’re complained yourself hoarse to the newly
constituted ward committee but nothing’s been done about it.

Finally
there’s action on that front: for the first time ever, Bangaloreans can
on knock the High Court’s doors by filing an affidavit about inaction
by the ward committees.

Pillar to post

A
first-of-its-kind order allows citizens to come to the High Court
directly instead of being shunted from pillar to post. In its order on
Monday, a Division Bench comprising Justice N. Kumar and Justice B.V.
Nagarathna asked people to first approach the ward committees, whose
members also comprise those in the neighbourhood, with the local
councillor as its chairperson.

Their details are all there on the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) website.

Should they fail to act on the garbage situation, citizens are free to approach the High Court with their problem.

The
Bench was responding to public interest litigation (PIL) petitions on
the subject. It reminded committees that “ensuring proper solid waste
management (SWM) and sanitation work in the ward and finalising location
of new public sanitation units” was one of their duties.

“Even
after complaining to the ward committee, if no action is taken to
[lift] the garbage, citizens can bring the issue to the notice of this
court by filing an affidavit, giving all particulars of the complaints
made to the WC, and this court would then pass necessary order after
hearing the WC concerned,” the Bench said.

“The
members of ward committees and the councillor can easily monitor waste
management when they go for their morning walk as that is the time the
people throw garbage on the street due to which the whole purpose of
making segregation of garbage at source is lost,” the Bench observed
orally.

Pointing out that people’s participation is
not more merely becoming ward committee members, the Bench orally
observed that those who take up the responsibility as members should
monitor waste disposal means in their ward every day. They are
accountable to the public as the law has entrusted them with such task.