During a meeting with Health Department officials today, Mayor Vaneet Dhir made his stance clear on the garbage mess in the city. He asked the officials to ensure that no garbage was found on roads which was a common sight in every nook and corner of the city. The meeting continued for nearly two hours.

The officials also raised various issues on why they weren't able to work. They told the Mayor that there was a huge shortage of staff in the branch. The department needed above 3,000 safai karamcharis for 85 wards when there were only 1,700 and there were not even a single Chief Sanitary Inspector. "Eight Chief Sanitary Inspectors are required and also, against the requirement of 28 sanitary inspectors, 18 are there," an official said.

The Mayor also talked about the issue of dump sites in the city that were in a bad shape. He said piles of garbage were seen outside the dump sites which was not acceptable. He also asked the officials to cover the dump sites.

"A person must be deputed outside the dump sites who will clean the mess outside once tipper picks garbage from these sites," he said.

To increase revenue, the issue of bulk waste generators not managing garbage on their own was also raised.

According to the Solid Waste Management Rules, they are required to manage wet waste by the process of composting. There are above 500 bulk waste generators in the city (generating 50 kg waste), and reportedly hardly any one of these is managing waste.

Despite several campaigns, warnings and announcements regarding issuing challans to violators, no change has been observed on the ground.