Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi does not want to take any chances when it comes to monsoon preparedness. While his new diktat will have clean-up marshals monitoring nullahs in the city round the clock, he also wants offenders penalised if they are caught dumping garbage in them. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has initiated putting up nets at the mouths of several drains to stop garbage from entering the sea.

Pardeshi wants the people of Mumbai to change. He wants them to stop dumping waste in nullahs. So the Solid Waste Management Department has been asked to increase the number of sanitary inspectors and clean-up marshals at several locations, mainly near slums close to the banks of nullahs, to monitor the areas 24X7. Civic sources revealed that R200 will be charged for dumping in nullahs. The clean-up marshals currently charge Rs 200 for littering and spitting, whereas R100 is charged for defecating in the open. Littering by pets is charged Rs 500.