Political blamegame begins over Deonar fire in Mumbai, Centre sends team

Fresh fire broke out at the Deonar dumping ground late on Sunday night, following which fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The fire tenders continue to be at the spot on Monday to contain the fire.

The disaster management team termed it as an incident of pocket fire even as the air quality in Mumbai dropped sharply on Sunday.

Meanwhile, political blamegame began on the issue with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena targeting each other. While the NCP hit out at the Shiv Sena, which rules the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corportation (BMC) for incompetence, Sena called it a smear campaign ahead of BMC elections.

Jayant Patil of NCP said, "Shiv Sena is the ruling party in Mumbai municipal corporation but has not taken care of the garbage…The area around is very polluted."

Meanwhile, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Centre was in touch with the state government over the issue and monitoring the situation.

"I will discuss the issue with the Chief Minister. We are sending special team to Deonar dump yard in Mumbai…They will send report in one week," said Javadekar.

This comes two months after another major fire broke out at Deonar. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had then ordered an inquiry into the fire which had covered Mumbai under thick smog for several days.

Notably, responding to a PIL by a residents’ association earlier, the Bombay High Court had issued a set of guidelines to the BMC to prevent similar fire tragedies.

Here are the guidelines:

# BMC should consult IIT/NEERI to suggest maintenance measures.

# 5-member monitoring committee be constituted to oversee maintenance.

# Appoint deputy commissioner rank officer as in-charge of dumping ground.

# Deploy adequate police force to protect dumping ground from anti-social elements.

# BMC should immediately construct fencing/compound wall around Deonar.

# Steps should be taken to install CCTV cameras at strategic locations.

# BMC should immediately remove encroachments made inside dumping ground.

# BMC shall not grant development permission for new constructions.