Bengaluru’s civic body has launched an unusual crackdown on littering, one that literally sends garbage back to the people who dumped it. Under a new initiative called Kasa Suriyuva Habba (Garbage Dumping Festival), officials from the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) are tracing illegally dumped waste and returning it to the households and shops it came from and dumping it back at their doorsteps. The campaign, aimed at tackling the city’s persistent blackspots, has sparked both applause and outrage across Bengaluru.
According to BSWML Chief Executive Officer Karee Gowda, 218 households across the city were identified for illegally dumping waste, and their discarded garbage was returned to them on Thursday, October 30, as part of an awareness and enforcement drive. The agency collected Rs 2.8 lakh in fines from offenders, who were penalised between Rs 500 and Rs 5,000 depending on the frequency and severity of violations.
The civic body has also deployed marshals across the city to record habitual dumpers on video. Based on this footage, officials identify repeat offenders, trace their addresses and deliver the dumped waste back to their doorsteps under official supervision. The BSWML says the effort is aimed at sensitising residents who dispose of garbage on roads, footpaths, and empty plots, often late at night.
According to data from BSWML, Padmanabhanagara, KR Pura, and Mahalakshmi Layout recorded the highest penalties. Padmanabhanagara alone saw fines amounting to Rs 24,500, while KR Pura logged the most cases (25), followed by Vijayanagara (17) and Pulakeshinagara (14).
Commercial hubs such as Chickpet, Bommanahalli and Jayanagar reported fewer cases but higher penalties per violation. In contrast, residential areas like Pulakeshinagara and Sarvagnanagara saw smaller fines, averaging below Rs 400 per case, mostly for minor infractions such as littering or failing to segregate waste.
To strengthen enforcement, the agency will now accept photo and video evidence from the public through its WhatsApp helpline (9448197197). It also plans to review CCTV footage in blackspot-prone areas and trace vehicles used for illegal dumping.
The initiative comes amid growing frustration over Bengaluru’s waste management system. Even Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar recently admitted that the government has struggled to rein in the “garbage mafia” operating in the sector, which is valued at several hundred crores annually.
While the enforcement drive has earned praise for its tough stance, it has also triggered criticism from activists who call the move “lawless” and “unconstitutional.”
“This is not how you solve a systemic issue,” said Sandeep Anirudhan, founder and convenor of Citizens’ Agenda for Bengaluru. “Going and dumping waste anywhere is a crime, even if the government does it. This kind of theatrics sets a bad precedent.”
Sandeep also criticised the shift of waste management functions from the BBMP to the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). “The GBA is an unconstitutional new layer of government. Under the 74th Amendment, waste management is the function of the corporation. The more you centralise, the more inefficient it gets,” he said, calling for decentralised ward-level management and public education on home composting.
“About 60% of our waste is wet waste,” he said. “If citizens are trained to compost or reuse it, and the rest is segregated for recycling, only 10% would need landfills. Instead, we have a corrupt, centralised system with vested interests that profit from transport and incineration.”
A 360-degree problem
Activist Tara Krishnaswamy, co-founder of the civic collective Shakti, described the issue as a “360-degree problem” involving both citizens and the government.
She pointed out that while Bengaluru struggles with poor civic sense, it also faces systemic failures. “This is not an either-or thing. You have solid waste management challenges, pourakarmikas not paid on time, garbage mafia contractors, lack of staff, and at the same time, you have citizens who dump waste where they shouldn’t. It’s a 360-degree problem,” she said.
Tara noted that the absence of an elected city council and ward committees has further weakened local accountability. “If garbage isn’t picked up, where do residents go? The BSWML reports to the GBA, which is run by the Chief Minister. You can’t just send a WhatsApp complaint and expect redressal,” she said.
She added that while penalising littering is important, enforcement without reliable systems and citizen participation risks being counterproductive. “The problem exposes the flaws of a centralised system that’s unaccountable to people,” she said.
She added that the campaign also raises questions of accountability. “One of the biggest problems is that you don’t have an elected council or ward committees where you can raise these issues and say garbage isn’t being picked up. The BSWML is not even part of the city corporation; it's at the GBA level, run by the Chief Minister. So where do citizens go? Who is accountable?” Tara said, arguing that the initiative highlights flaws in the new governance structure for Bengaluru.
What is the GBA?
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), notified in August 2025, marks a major overhaul of how the city is governed. Chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and co-chaired by Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar, the new body will coordinate across agencies to address the city’s long-standing governance gaps.
From September, Bengaluru was carved into five smaller corporations, all brought under the GBA’s umbrella. The move stems from the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024, which initially proposed granting the authority sweeping administrative powers. That version faced strong opposition from civic activists and political parties, who argued it violated the 74th Constitutional Amendment mandating elected local governance.
Following multiple public interest litigations, the law was amended, limiting the GBA’s role to coordination rather than control. Under the revised framework, key agencies such as the Bangalore Development Authority, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority, Directorate of Urban Land Transport, and the City police now report to the GBA on issues related to local governance. The government says this structure will finally tackle the chronic lack of coordination between civic departments. But critics warn it risks creating yet another layer of bureaucracy, one further removed from public accountability.
