Pune Air Action Hub submits petition demanding improved waste burning grievance redressal to PMC
Pune, 5th May 2025: The Pune Air Action Hub members submitted a petition demanding better grievance redressal of waste burning complaints to Shri Prithviraj Meena, Additional Commissioner, PMC. The petition signed by 1300 citizens demands the following things;
Dedicated 24×7 complaint number for waste burning Dedicated response squads/ force for immediate action after complaints are lodged Live tracking of complaints made, location of mobile squads Conduct night visits to deter perpetrators from dumping and burning Ward wise mapping of burning and dumping spots Proactive disclosure of actions taken to reduce burning and dumping on a monthly basis at ward level.
The Pune Air Action Hub is a collective of concerned citizens, organisations, practitioners and academicians working for better air quality in Pune.
Over the past year the Hub has systematically analysed the gaps in the existing grievance redressal system, delay in responding to the urgent nature of burning cases, being the primary gap. It was found that often responses to complaints came much later after the fire itself had died down, thereby reducing the scope of any enforcement or deterrent action. While there are many media through which complaints can be made, the timely and satisfactory resolution of these complaints has not been observed.
“To counter this especially persistent issue of waste burning, PMC will have to ramp up their efforts. Recently mobile squads have been introduced, but there are issues with their performance too. The current system gives multiple numbers of squad members, changing every day and also multiple times within the day as per the shift. This makes it difficult to use. A single centralised number for waste burning complaints would be very effective.” – Shweta Vernekar, Parisar.
“Citizens have found the mobile squads useful, but they still fall short of addressing the issue fully. Mobile squads need to be easy to use, available 24×7 and have a better rate of resolution/ action taken, given that their mandate is immediate/urgent response.” – Hema Chari, Pune Air Action Hub
The Pune Air Action Hub also submitted a letter on addressing the gaps in the functioning of the recently inaugurated special mobile squads. Additional Commissioner Prithviraj Meena said he would look into the matter and push for a single number for waste burning complaints, along with ensuring that resolution of these complaints made to the mobile squads is effective. He also spoke about the possibility of a dashboard where action taken would be visible.
