Castaway Mountain
Page 24
“a vast panic and exodus” from the city, Snow wrote.—Weir wrote of the night he and Snow met the police commissioner, with the crowds swirling outside. The police commissioner and the health officer “were of the opinion that our sanitary staff would make common cause with the rioters, nor was it possible to ascertain in a time of such wild panic and excitement how far the fine discipline of the Bombay Police would avail” (Snow, Annual Report of the Municipal Commissioner of Bombay for the Year 1896–97).
much less adopt a single preventive measure against the plague—Executive engineer’s account in the municipal commissioner’s report 1897–98 (Snow, Annual Report of the Municipal Commissioner of Bombay for the Year 1896–97).
The government acquired the land from its owner, Ardeshir Cursetji Cama, that May.—executive engineer’s department report in the municipal commissioner’s report for 1899 (Snow, Annual Report of the Municipal Commissioner of Bombay for the Year 1896–97).
The smell of garbage, it was thought, would make them gag.—Executive engineer’s report (Snow, Annual Report of the Municipal Commissioner of Bombay for the Year 1896–97).
to keep the sea from seeping into the site, and garbage from flowing into the creek—The bund was completed on December 15, 1901, according to the executive engineer’s report in the municipal commissioners report (Snow, Annual Report of the Municipal Commissioner of Bombay for the Year 1896–97).
“… an unhealthy swamp, could be converted into fruitful agricultural ground,” the report concluded—Executive engineer’s account in the municipal commissioner’s report (Snow, Annual Report of the Municipal Commissioner of Bombay for the Year 1896–97).
hand their settlements over to developers so they could build apartments and office towers—Times of India Proquest Archive. Among the stories dating back to the early sixties is one about the residents of a chawl, or tenement, near Vitabai’s house in central Bombay. The municipality had ripped out the door and window frames and the tiled roof, and withdrew the power and water supply, while some residents battled in court to stay on, rather than move to Deonar. The court eventually asked them to move.
large workshops to house their small businesses—Lisa Björkman, Pipe Politics, Contested Waters: Embedded Infrastructures of Millennial Mumbai (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2015). Björkman shows how the slums around the mountains were planned and legally settled.
gases from hastily closed dumping grounds didn’t settle for years—Shalini Nair, “Gases Spook Comps in IT Park Built on Dump,” Times of India, April 2, 2007. Also interview with Amiya Sahu, founder of the National Solid Waste Association of India, who tested and found gases from trash floating in the newly made corporate offices.
THREE
In 1995, Bombay had become Mumbai.—The city is referred to as Bombay before 1995 and Mumbai after that in the text.
India’s environment ministry had framed rules, for the first time, to manage waste—Ministry of Environment and Forests, Management of Solid Waste (Management and Handling, 2000 Rules), 2000, https://www.mpcb.gov.in/sites/default/files/solid-waste/MSWrules200002032020.pdf.
FOUR
“which show a film of gas over the waste,” later court observations said—From court orders passed by Justice D. Y. Chandrachud on July 7, 2009, in the Bombay High Court. Dr. Sandip K. Rane v. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors. (Contempt Petition 29 of 2008), https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/generatenewauth.php?bhcpar=cGF0aD0uL3dyaXRlcmVhZGRhdGEvZGF0YS9vcmlnaW5hbC8yMDA5LyZmbmFtZT1DT05QVzI2MDgwNzA3MDkucGRmJnNtZmxhZz1OJnJqdWRkYXRlPSZ1cGxvYWRkdD0mc3Bhc3NwaHJhc2U9MTAwMTIxMjIyNDIw.
constricting their breath—From the petition filed by residents of Shanti Park/Sorento against Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) in Writ petition 1138 of 1996, obtained through the Right to Information Act, from MCGM.
seven times more than the rules allowed—Shanti Park residents quoted the municipal submissions showing respiratory suspended particulate matter at Deonar was 2163Mg/m3, seven times higher than permissible limits (Shanti Park “Sorento” Co-Op Housing Society Ltd and Others v. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and Others (Writ Petition 1138 of 1196)).
brain damage in the children who breathed it in—Petitioners quoted municipal findings in their court affidavit showing that the lead content in mountain air was two and a half times the permissible limits.
The municipality’s response at the time declared the mountains lit up in “spontaneous combustion.”—Affidavit by Narayan Achrekar in the Bombay High Court. Other municipal affidavits from the time say the fires were a “natural phenomenon.”
continually burning fires and their rising smoke—Petition by Shanti Park “Sorento” Coop Housing Society Ltd. and Others v. MCGM and others. They asked for police patrols, fire engines, and water tankers to curb fires and a telephone number to complain on, when the smoke increased at night.
interstitial lung disease, which would thicken the tissue around their lungs, consuming them within five years of breathlessness and coughing—Details on interstitial lung disease were given by Dr. Kumar Doshi, a chest physician, in a letter to Dr. Rane that was included in Rane’s contempt petition. Dr. Vikas Oswal, a well-known pulmonologist who practices in the lanes around the mountains, confirmed that he saw more interstitial lung disease in these lanes than elsewhere in the city, and that half his patients arrived with respiratory diseases. Other doctors confirmed this.
the Triangle of Death—Men living near the illegal landfills in Campania province in Italy had a 35.9 in 100,000 rate of dying from liver cancer, compared to 14 in the rest of Italy. Women had a 20.5 in 100,000 rate of dying from liver cancer, compared to 6 in the rest of Italy. From a study published in The Lancet in September 2004. Kathryn Senior and Alfredo Mazza, “Italian ‘Triangle of Death’ Linked to Waste Crisis,” The Lancet Oncology 5, no. 9 (September 2004): 525–27.
cleansing the murky air and water it spewed—₹10,500 crore landfill fixing project, taken from tender documents.
their homes inched into hills, and gangs fought for trash—Among project and tender details for this project, obtained through the Right to Information Act, were letters to this effect.
In a ward further away, by comparison, it was less than 1 percent.—Rajil Menon, “Gas Chembur,” DownToEarth, November 30, 2009, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/gas-chembur-2658.
the haze was thick with the carcinogenic chemical formaldehyde—Findings of high levels of formaldehyde were communicated by NEERI to Dr. Rane in March 2009, according to court orders (Shanti Park “Sorento” Co-Op Housing Society Ltd and Others v. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and Others (Writ Petition 1138 of 1196)). Also referred to in the above story.
the authors looked at elsewhere in the world—Dipanjali Majumdar and Anjali Srivastava, “Volatile Organic Compound Emissions from Municipal Solid Waste Sites: A Case Study of Mumbai, India,” Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 62, no. 4 (2012): 398–407.
little more than half the lives that other Indians did—Human Development Report, by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 2009).
“… no serious attempt has been made to alleviate the problem.”—Orders passed by Justice DY Chandrachud in the Bombay High Court on May 8, 2008—Dr. Sandip K. Rane v. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors. (2008), https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/generatenewauth.php?bhcpar=cGF0aD0uL3dyaXRlcmVhZGRhdGEvZGF0YS9vcmlnaW5hbC8yMDA5LyZmbmFtZT1DT05QVzI2MDgwODA1MDkucGRmJnNtZmxhZz1OJnJqdWRkYXRlPSZ1cGxvYWRkdD0mc3Bhc3NwaHJhc2U9MTAwMTIxMjIyNDIw.
FIVE
to see the forgotten world with his own eyes—From the May 8, 2008 orders passed by Justice Chandrachud in the Bombay High Court. Dr. Sandip K. Rane v. Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors. (2008).
they called it Tatva—Tatva means “elements” in Hindi, and “principled” in Marathi.
the tender process had material flaws—Ajay Saxena Committee Report on Public Private Partnerships. Ajay Saxen
a, Inquiry Report on Public Private-Partnership Integrated Solid Waste Managements at Deonar, Mulund and Kanjurmarg Dumping Grounds, September 2011.
SIX
so it could begin making the plant—From court orders passed in Tatva’s plea for arbitration in the Bombay High Court, March 19, 2015.—Tatva Global Environment (Deonar) Ltd. v. The Municipal Corporation of Gr. Mumbai, https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/generatenewauth.php?bhcpar=cGF0aD0uL3dyaXRlcmVhZGRhdGEvZGF0YS9qdWRnZW1lbnRzLzIwMTUvJmZuYW1lPU9TQVJCQVAyMjY4MTMucGRmJnNtZmxhZz1OJnJqdWRkYXRlPSZ1cGxvYWRkdD0yNC8wMy8yMDE1JnNwYXNzcGhyYXNlPTEwMDEyMTIzNDYzOA==.
Atique and Rafique were charged with her son’s murder, Atique recalled—From the police charge sheet against Atique and Rafique Khan, filed in 2016.
slipping through holes in the wall at the far end of the township’s official entrance—Atique Khan told me that Rafique’s trucks were contracted by the municipality, brought only as much debris as permitted and emptied it where asked. The police had framed charges saying that Rafique broke the wall at the far end and brought in debris illegally.
begin making the plant, which would lead to the mountains’ closure—From court orders passed in Tatva’s plea for arbitration in the Bombay High Court, March 19, 2015—Tatva Global Environment (Deonar) Ltd. v. The Municipal Corporation of Gr. Mumbai.
the terms of the municipality’s contract with Tatva—From Maharashtra State Assembly proceedings dated April 3, 2013.
hand over the township’s lease and pay its dues—From court orders passed in Tatva’s plea for arbitration in the Bombay High Court on March 19, 2015.
SEVEN
irregularities with the tender process—SK Goyal committee report submitted in January 2015 (S.K. Goyal and Shrikant Singh, Report of SIT for the irregularities in Mumbai SWM Projects in Deonar, Mulund and Kanjurmarg, January 27, 2015).
It took back the plans for the plant.—Documents showing the meeting at the municipal commissioner’s office where that plant was scrapped; found at http://forestsclearance.nic.in/DownloadPdfFile.aspx?FileName=0_0_5114123712111AdminAppA-III.pdf&FilePath=../writereaddata/Addinfo/.
only six years into its twenty-five-year tenancy—Termination of Tatva’s contract. While this forms the subject of ongoing arbitration between the municipality and Tatva, it is referred to in several documents, including the Achrekar Committee report to probe the fires, ordered on February 1, 2016, by the municipal commissioner (Kiran Achrekar, Inquiry Report on the Cause of Fire at Deonar Dumping Grounds on January 28, 2016, February 1, 2016).
and doodled when she was—A study conducted by the nonprofit organization Pratham and the MIT’s Poverty Action Lab found that teachers taught according to the curriculum, while students—often first-generation learners—lagged behind. Known as Teaching at the Right Level, or TaRL, it was conducted in Ashra’s ward (among others) in Mumbai, and encouraged teachers to take some time teaching at the child’s level. The scheme was eventually taken across the country and to several other countries.
EIGHT
asking for fire engines—From the testimony of Rajan Anant Patil, junior supervisor. MCGM’s Achrekar Committee report (Inquiry Report on the Cause of Fire at Deonar Dumping Grounds on January 28, 2016), inquiring into the January 2016 fires.
winding slowly through flaming trash hills—Deepak Ahire in the Achrekar Committee report. Other municipal officers have said 8:30 A.M. The fire department’s inquiry report states that it received a call at 12:58 P.M. and reached the grounds at 1:35 P.M.
hydrants at the township—From the inquiry report on the fires in January 2016, conducted by M. N. Dhonde, Assistant Divisional Fire Officer, Fire Investigation Report, February 15, 2016. Report obtained through the RTI Act. Tatva executives did not respond to several emails seeking comment.
the acceptable limit was 200—AQI measurement from SAFAR, the System for Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.
it should have stayed below 80 micrograms—Measured by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, and quoted in the Lohiya Committee report: Inquiry Report on the Cause of Fire at Deonar Dumping Ground on January 28, 2016 (submitted on May, 11, 2016).
the day the fires began—From “Contractor Asks BMC for Rs 36.19 cr to Return Deonar Dump Ground,” Hindustan Times, February 11, 2016, https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/contractor-asks-bmc-for-rs36-19cr-to-return-deonar-dump-ground/story-Tp4EeBQKp5eTIOm46X5qKN.html.
$5 billion had been committed to making iPhones in the state—From a story in Mint newspaper by Makarand Gadgil, “How Maharashtra Bagged the $5 Billion Foxconn Deal”, Mint, August 13, 2015, https://www.livemint.com/Politics/VXNlQnXrncM9FRBO5xE2pK/How-Maharashtra-bagged-the-5-billion-Foxconn-deal.html. It stated that Foxconn, the contract manufacturer of Apple phones, would invest $5 billion over five years in a factory that would be a replica of its second-largest plant in China. The plans had languished for years and were officially scrapped in 2020 when Chinese and Indian troops faced off in Ladakh.
NINE
soaking into submission the fires that could have raged for days—“Major Fire Breaks Out at Deonar Dumping Yard again,” Business Standard, February 15, 2016.
municipality’s security cameras that did not work and was captured on the gangs’ cameras that did—Raj Kumar Sharma’s petition filed in January 2016.
Down the street was RK Studios—RK Studios was named for Raj Kapoor, the actor, director, and producer behind it.
the land was dotted with private homes and tribal settlements—From court orders passed in February 2016—Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai v. Pandurng Patil and Ors. Public Interest Litigation 217 of 2009, https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/generatenewauth.php?bhcpar=cGF0aD0uL3dyaXRlcmVhZGRhdGEvZGF0YS9qdWRnZW1lbnRzLzIwMTYvJmZuYW1lPUNDQUkyMjY5NzEzLnBkZiZzbWZsYWc9WSZyanVkZGF0ZT0zMC8wMy8yMDE2JnVwbG9hZGR0PTExLzAzLzIwMTYmc3Bhc3NwaHJhc2U9MTAwMTIxMjMyNjEw.
which made for most construction in the space-starved city anyway, could continue—Court orders say that new development formed only 18.7 percent of all proposals for construction in the city, which was banned, compared to 81.3 percent for the redevelopment of old buildings, which could continue (from January 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015).
They tried to revive a breathless baby who, newspapers later reported, died.—Press Trust of India; the parents of a six-month-old baby said he had suffered from breathlessness since the fires began in January and died during those in March. The AQI was 319, which was “very poor.” Authorities said the baby had had respiratory problems since birth.
There were no cameras on the mountains.—From the statement of Dayanand Naik, junior supervisor at the Deonar Dumping Ground in the Achrekar Committee report (Inquiry Report on the Cause of Fire at Deonar Dumping Grounds on January 28, 2016). He said there were no cameras on the grounds. Others said that only four of the forty cameras were installed, and none of them worked.
TEN
while police settled a booth across it—Letter from MCGM to Tatva, on the wall at the far end of the township being broken.
veered away from her on hill clearings to this estate—This is backed up by the Lohiya Committee report (Inquiry Report on the Cause of Fire at Deonar Dumping Grounds on January 28, 2016).
blew toxic clouds into the air that the pickers barely noticed—An inspection by the Pollution Control Board had found biomedical was arriving by cycle, in unmarked vehicles and only one of its four incinerators working as required. It also questioned whether permission for the plant should have been given in the middle of the packed lanes. The plant was closed for a day before compliances were met and the plant restarted, in documents obtained through RTI.
on behalf of the lanes near where the city dumped its own garbage, endlessly—From records kept by Praja, a nonprofit organization that conducts research on urban governance.
they had been threatened, intimidated, beaten, or their vehicles impounded if they did not pay—From the police charge sheet. (Atique Khan had told me they gave up on the parking space when officials asked for such h
igh bribes and they could not make a profit anymore.)
ELEVEN
seasonal inhalation and exhalation in the municipality’s fire inquiry report, in Marathi—Madan Yavalkar in the Achrekar Committee report (Inquiry Report on the Cause of Fire at Deonar Dumping Grounds on January 28, 2016)—“pavsali hungamyat kachryat paani gelya mule tyache aaakarmaan vadhte va teevra unhalyat tyatlya panyache bashmi bavan zhalyane kami hote.”
Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA), which allowed for long periods of imprisonment without bail—Bombay High Court orders passed on October 1, 2018. While the case had come up in a special court and then the High Court, these orders explain the police and Khan brothers’ account of their role on the mountains and deny bail. They did get bail some months after this order, when the Khan brothers had spent more than two and a half years in jail, under trial. Javed Yousuf Qureshi v. The State of Maharashtra, Criminal Bail Application No 3020 of 2017, https://bombayhighcourt.nic.in/generatenewauth.php?bhcpar=cGF0aD0uL3dyaXRlcmVhZGRhdGEvZGF0YS9jcmltaW5hbC8yMDE4LyZmbmFtZT0yQkEzMDIwMTcwMTEwMTgucGRmJnNtZmxhZz1OJnJqdWRkYXRlPSZ1cGxvYWRkdD0yMi8xMS8yMDE4JnNwYXNzcGhyYXNlPTExMDEyMTE2NTA0NA==.