Health & Environment

Chairman
Mr. Keshub Mahindra
Chairman, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

Convener
Mr. Gerson da Cunha
Convenor AGNI
Action for Good Governance & Networking in India

Members:  
Mr. Anand Akerkar
President PRANA Worldwide
Prof. Soli Arceivala
Chairman Emeritus
AIC Watson Consultants Limited
Dr. Shyam Asolekar
Professor
Centre for Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Dr. P. Ram Babu
Assistant Director
(Global Sustainability)
Price Waterhouse Coopers Limited
Dr (Mrs.) Alka Karande
Dy. Municipal Commissioner (Education)
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
Mr. Joy Manglani
Chief Executive Officer
One Nature
Dr. Prasad Modak
Director
Environment Management Centre
Ms. Kunti Oza
President
Clean Mumbai Foundation
Mr. Bittu Sehgal
Editor
Sanctuary Magazine
Mr. D.M. Sukthankar
Former Municipal Commissioner
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
Dr. Vikas Tondwalkar
Joint Director (Environment)
Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority
 

Mission:
To mobilize stakeholders like the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Non-Government Organisations (NG)s), Citizen's Groups, Industry and Educational Institutions to focus on the waste management problem in the city and work together towards solutions. The idea is to identify and "unlock" bottle necks in present plans; mobilize and coordinate activities and attend to the urgent problem of safe disposal of hospital waste.

Activities:
The Solid Waste Management Committee continues its work with locality groups and Advance Locality Management (ALM) teams. Much citizen action was initiated, street committees formed and dialogue with Ward Offices established. No table start ups were on Napean Sea Road, Wadala and generally in E Ward.

In Churchgate where Bombay First activities began in SWM, clean-up activities continued. They have flowered into tow separate projects: The Citizens' Forum for Protection of Public Spaces and Churchgate Revival. The Citizens' pursued its activities in court for the regularisation of hawker activity. Landmark decisions were gained in the Bombay High Court in July/August 2000, ordering establishment of hawking and non-hawking zones.

Churchgate Revival attracted contributions from the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation for research on what should be done and seed money for action. Bombay Firsts' initiative has resulted in formation of a coalition of five NGOs.

The feature of this work is that much of the activity has been self financed with only seed money contributed by Bombay First.

Project on "Creating a Critical Awareness and Promoting Best Practices on SWM in selected areas in the Western and Central suburbs of Mumbai" has been completed focusing on the waste management problem in the city and working together towards solutions. The Project was funded by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Environment Society Project and was implemented in three suburban areas. It was observed that while awareness activities had been very successful, implementation of practices such as vermicomposting and city farming were being taken up by 50 to 60% of the pilot project areas. Given time and directions from MCGM recently these practices would take hold and spread. Project implemented in three suburban areas: Vile Parle (East), Mahim and Kurla (W).