A mere nine months since it was inaugurated, plastic waste tossed from Hanging Gardens is piling up on Malabar Hill slopes, with residents blaming poor enforcement, unchecked tourist behaviour
(From left) Plastic bottles and food wrappers litter the slopes below the Malabar Hill treetop walkway (middle) Garbage strewn across the green slopes near the walkway just nine months since inauguration (right) Plastic waste scattered along the trail below the walkway. Pics/By Special Arrangement
What was meant to offer a birds-eye walk through South Mumbai’s green canopy is now revealing a far uglier sight. Just a year after its inauguration, the Malabar Hill treetop walkway is overlooking slopes littered with plastic waste, as tourists toss snack packets and bottles off the edge of the Hanging Gardens, turning a forest experience into a dumping ground.
Opened to the public on April 1, 2025, the Malabar Hill walkway, South Mumbai’s first treetop walkway, quickly became a major tourist draw. However, residents say the surge in footfall has come at a cost, with garbage steadily piling up on the hill slopes below.
Locals allege that visitors routinely discard packaged food waste, water bottles, juice cartons and plastic carry bags over the edge of the Hanging Gardens, polluting the green slopes that support the walkway and are home to several evergreen trees.
Residents have flagged poor enforcement and a lack of sustained cleanliness drives, noting that the absence of elected representatives since the walkway’s inauguration has made it harder to push accountability and behavioural change among visitors.
While the BMC conducts routine morning cleaning rounds, residents point out that visitors are allowed to carry packaged food and refreshments into the Hanging Gardens and the walkway throughout the day, leading to repeated instances of garbage being thrown onto the slopes.
“This is meant to be a forest treetop walkway that offers a green experience. But the view from the walkway is now compromised due to the growing amount of garbage piling up on the slopes through the day. We need large-scale awareness drives and tighter security to prevent packaged food items from being carried inside the Hanging Gardens, so plastic littering can be stopped,” said Pervin Sanghvi, a resident of the area.
Both sides of the walkway are now dotted with discarded chip packets, finger food wrappers, water and juice bottles, tetra packs and plastic carry bags. Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said security personnel should strictly prevent packaged food from being taken inside. “The BMC had proposed starting a refreshments centre inside the viewing gallery itself. If corrective steps are not taken now, poor civic sense will continue to prevail,” the resident said.
Residents have demanded that the civic body impose a ban on carrying bags inside the Hanging Gardens. Sanghvi pointed out that multiple dustbins already exist within the garden premises. “The real issue is awareness and behaviour. This can be addressed through better enforcement. The civic body can consider a coupon-based system or lockers, where visitors leave their bags outside before entering the gardens,” he added.
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