Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra government to consider a petition seeking action against open defecation as if it was a representation made to the state and take appropriate measures expeditiously.
The court was hearing a petition filed by advocate Vishwasrao Devkar seeking strict action against people who defecate in the open, thereby spoiling the environment and making areas in the cities and villages dirty and unhygienic.
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A bench headed by Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Girish Kulkarni asked the government to treat this petition as if it were a representation made to it and asked the state to act on open defecation.
The petition said that the government had amended the Village Panchayat Act to compulsorily provide that every home must have a toilet and possess a certificate from the local authority that it has the toilet facility.
The petitioner raised a grievance saying that people resorted to open defecation in Maharashtra and no action was taken by the authorities against those who are resorting to such a practice.
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It pleaded that the local authorities must take action on complaints or photographs of such open defecation by the people.
The court was of the view that the government must take a policy decision on the issue and take immediate steps to curb the practice.
Rohit J
May 8, 2017 at 7:42 pm
i need help in complaining against open defecation in my area, its is a Dr.Ambedkar road Pali hill next to allied garage, there are people staying in slum like houses on footpaths and they openly defecate there,im sorry to say but during elections we are given many hopes and and this is the simplest thing i can ask for is that the street and footpath that i walk on in a prime location like Khar should be free of defecation and bad smell, the hygiene levels are very bad as the people who stay there have no education and do not know the difference. the police is not ready to react on this stating that there is no rule for catching people who are defecating. moreover i get reply’s like these slum dwellers have been here since ages and no one can touch them. the exact footpath were this open defecating happens is walled to a convent school.please help me this is a clear part of the Swach Bharat Abhiyaan
Sagar Jadhav
March 3, 2018 at 8:40 pm
This is to bring to your kind attention the open defecation that is happening behind our building premises and society, Vraj Bhoomi at Brahmand thane west
The shanties, where the construction workers and migraters and their children live, openely defecate in the mornings and any time of the day on the open ground between Hiranandani Estate and our society. Besides it being a eyesore and nuisance to see them from our Windows doing this, it is also a health hazard considering the flies and insects that fester on these and then spread germs and diseases. The mosquito and fly menace has increased. The smell is unbearble when we should be breathing fresh morning air we are forced to inhale this stench.
Considering our corporation is doing so much for swach bharat abhiyan and building toilets for the underprivileged this comes as a shocker in a developed cosmopolitan city like Thane and that too in a Posh neighbourhood of Hiranandani Estate and Brahmand.
I/we would be greatly thankful to you if you could do something in the matter to stop this open defecation before the situation gets worse and becomes a major “dumping” ground for human waste. This land could be used for a garden or some public utility
Hope to get a positive response at the earliest .
nilesh moreshwar sumant
March 27, 2021 at 6:01 pm
Kindly note down the address where public is openly defacating both during day n night.
1) Kaima Railway Station in Satna District of m.p.state
2) Sakaria
3) Turki
4) Bagahai
5) Rewa
Public residing along railway siding colony openly defacate. Kindly be updated and take action.