Mumbai cracks down on debris dumping as BMC makes GPS tracking mandatory

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will begin imposing penalties of Rs 25,000 from Monday, October 12, on vehicles transporting construction and demolition waste without an active authorised tracking system and on construction sites that are not registered on the city’s debris monitoring portal.

The move is part of a wider enforcement drive intended to prevent illegal dumping and improve the handling of construction and excavation waste as Mumbai’s air quality deteriorates following the withdrawal of the monsoon.

Under the new enforcement measures, vehicles carrying construction and demolition waste or excavation material without an active authorised or empanelled Vehicle Tracking and Monitoring System (VTMS) will attract a penalty of Rs 25,000 per vehicle per instance, reported The Indian Express.

A similar penalty will apply to construction sites that have not registered on the Mumbai Debris Control and Tracking System (MDCTS).

The civic body has issued a circular directing officials across all 26 municipal wards to enforce the penalties. Inspections are scheduled to begin on Monday.

Mumbai generates more than 8,000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste every day, while BMC’s facilities at Dahisar and Shilphata have a combined treatment capacity of approximately 1,200 tonnes a day.

The gap between waste generation and processing capacity has contributed to debris being dumped illegally on roads, vacant plots, drains, creeks, water bodies and mangroves.

BMC launched the MDCTS portal on August 24 to track waste from the site where it is generated to an authorised unloading or processing facility. GPS-based vehicle tracking is intended to help officials monitor transport routes, identify deviations and detect illegal dumping.

Between August and October 9, the civic body received 220 registrations on the portal. These included registrations from builders and developers, transporters, BMC contractors, corporate entities, government agencies and other users.

Contractors, public agencies and private developers are required to register on the portal and submit a construction and demolition waste management plan.

The new penalties are intended to strengthen compliance with the tracking system and improve accountability across construction sites and waste-transport operations.