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3.2 This petition raises three issues of public interest.

(A) Violation of mandatory parking space requirement under the GDCR in Sampatrao Colony and R C Dutt Road by majority of commercial/high rise buildings leading to unprecedented problems.

(B) Serious garbage and hygiene issue in Sampatrao Colony and Vadodara as a whole.

(C) Miserable condition of roads in Sampatrao colony. 3.3 The Sampatrao Colony area suffers from several problems and has been a victim of the most irresponsible and negligent conduct of the respondent Corporation. The petitioners are approaching this Court with a very heavy heart because these basic problems are to be addressed and solved by the Municipal Corporation. But unfortunately due to decades of inaction and after having lost all hopes from all fronts, the Petitioners are left without a choice but to knock the doors of this Court for redressal of the above mentioned grievances.

3.5 The dilapidated conditions of roads have led to serious accidents involving two wheelers, an unprecedented growth in road dust, accumulation of water from over flowing drainage and rains leading to breeding of mosquitoes and promise a back breaking drive for any vehicle. The quality of life has deteriorated to unprecedented levels.

3.6 The second major problem that requires an urgent solution is accumulation and dumping of garbage at various points in the colony. The garbage is dumped by various commercial buildings, residential apartments at several spots in the colony and surrounding areas leading to a very filthy, stinky and unhygienic situation. The local ward authority and the sanitation department have shown no zeal or interest to solve the problem. The garbage lies unattended and is cleared only once in 3-4 weeks. Such a problem has been haunting the locality and the surrounding areas since quite a few years and yet the respondent is not bothered to ensure a clean environment and take appropriate action. The main reason for regular garbage dumps is the failure of door to door collection system whereby the garbage collecting van appears once in a blue moon while at the same time the local ward authorities i.e. ward no.10 is not bothered to take action against habitual litterbugs i.e. some commercial buildings and residential apartments who dump their garbage on the road. Therefore, if the door to door collection system is made efficient, smaller dustbins are installed and strict action is taken against people who litter and dump garbage then such a problem could be solved.

This is not an adversary litigation and a solution has to be brought about through involvement and cooperation. Therefore, the present public interest litigant has been extremely patient but has borne no fruits and the situation is only deteriorating.

In the following paragraphs, an effort is made to describe the problem in detail and possible solutions which the Respondent-Corporation can adopt to reverse this situation.

The Respondent-Corporation has to realize that merely by clearing the garbage dumping spots would in no way solve the issue and the same spots will be filled up within hours after cleaning. The problem is much more complex and grave which the Respondent- Corporation has not understood. Over 3,000 people a day die at least partly due to poor or inadequate garbage and sanitation practices and over 1 Million die each year due to garbage and sanitation related illness. Vadodara is no different and has a share in these figures. To remedy the situation action on ground is required which is not forthcoming.

* Secondly, after cleaning up the garbage spots, a sign- board containing details about the fine for littering and a message to keep the city clean should be installed at the spot. A message has to pass to those who dump. Awareness is the only long term solution.

* Thirdly, the polluter has to pay. Through the data collected from the door to door collection staff and from regular monitoring done by the sanitary inspector of a locality, fine should be imposed on those household and buildings that dump their garbage on road. Besides households, the commercial/shopping complexes are also major contributor to the heaps of garbage across the streets. The Corporation should not turn a blind eye to it. * Fourthly, a network of garbage bins should be installed across the city which can be cleaned daily. Lack of infrastructure is also a major reason for the problem. * Fifthly, take steps to immediately ban spitting on road. It is an acute problem and surprisingly till date it is simply not being addressed. A lot of people feel disgusted and ashamed but little is being done to prevent people who are addicted to the pan Masala/Tobacco treating the city as a spittoon. To begin with, squads of sanitary inspectors should be placed at important traffic junctions, important places like airports, railways station, bus depots and spot fines should be imposed as soon as a person is found spitting. It can only have a positive impact and set an example for other cities to follow. * Sixthly, undertake activities to sensitize people. Public outreach programs through media and other mediums can have remarkable effect. It would be unfair to not act due to the fear of failure or due to any other reasons. 'A Garbage Free India' an NGO working in Calcutta has obtained wonderful result by using mass media to sensitize people.