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.