The failure to implement the 74th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted in 1992, is directly responsible for the garbage mess in the city. That’s the opinion of an expert on civic issues. The 74th Amendment sought to strengthen the urban local bodies.

But, “the centralisation of powers in the state has continued and has finally resulted in the garbage mess that is afflicting the city today,” said Leo Saldanha, co-ordinator of Environment Support Group (ESG), an NGO that deals with a variety of environmental and social justice initiatives.