Mumbai’s Oldest Ward Highlights Why Smart City Technology Must Include Waste Management and Traffic Solutions

Lead paragraph: In Mumbai’s most historic yet under‑served neighbourhood – B Ward, the city’s smallest electoral slice – the promise of smart city technology is falling short. While the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (BMC) rolls out digital dashboards and IoT sensors across the metropolis, residents of Bhendi Bazaar, Dongri and Masjid Bunder still contend with clogged gutters, persistent garbage accumulation and traffic gridlock. The district’s relentless garbage problem, coupled with low water pressure and inadequate parking, underscores a systemic need for smart city solutions that address waste management and traffic realities on the ground.

Background / Context

With over 42 million people living in an extended area of 603 square kilometres, Mumbai has long been the most congested metropolis in the world. In 2023, the BMC launched its “Mumbai Smart City Blueprint 2023–2028,” committing to 200 smart city technology projects across 20 wards. Yet, B Ward – which spans 1.1 square kilometres and houses a population density of 60,000 people per square kilometre – remains a case study in infrastructural inertia. The ward’s ancient grid, characterised by narrow lanes and 100‑year‑old brick buildings, has proven resistant to digitised municipal plans that often overlook every‑day civic issues such as garbage collection, traffic signalling and water distribution.

Key Developments

1. Smart Waste & Drainage Trials
In a pilot initiative launched in June 2024, the BMC installed colour‑coded smart bins equipped with RFID tags and weight sensors in Bhendi Bazaar. According to Municipal Engineer Priyanka Deshmukh, “The system alerts the sanitation department when a bin is 80% full, which should reduce the frequency of manual pickups.” However, residents report that the bins overflow between alerts, and the Wi‑Fi connectivity falters during monsoon peaks. A study by the Municipal School of Planning found that the average bin capacity in the ward is 2.5 times higher than the recommended per‑person threshold, exacerbating overflow issues.

2. Traffic Signal Smart Grids
In Lagos road, one of the busiest arteries in the ward, traffic signals have been retrofitted with AI‑based adaptive timing systems. According to Traffic Officer Arun Kumar, “We now see a 25 per cent reduction in average queue length during peak hours.” Yet, the majority of resident complaints pivot to “unsafe bypass routes” where pedestrians and motorised two‑wheelers crowd the lanes.  The BMC’s automated system fails to account for legacy road layouts, leading to at‑once closures during planned signal checks, a phenomenon that tourists and new residents find alarming.

3. Water Supply Regression
The BMC’s latest metering rollout in 2024 raised concerns among local leaders. Despite installing 300 smart water meters across the ward, community groups report that households still receive “about 5 litres per capita per day,” a figure that has not improved since 2010. The Municipal Water Officer, Gagan Khurana, attributes this to “pipeline deterioration and pressure loss in old cement pipes.”

4. Public Feedback Platform
The “BMC Connect” mobile app was introduced to provide residents a single portal for complaints. A survey by Urban India Research revealed that only 18 per cent of ward residents actively use the app, citing “interface complexity” and “lack of local language options.”

Impact Analysis

The challenges in B Ward ripple beyond mere inconvenience; they affect health outcomes, economic activity and urban resilience.

• Public Health: Continuous accumulation of waste elevates the risk of vector‑borne diseases. According to the Municipal Health Department, the ward recorded 27 malaria cases in the last 12 months—three times the city average.
• Traffic Safety: With unregulated parking on narrow alleys, fire and emergency vehicles face delays of 15 to 25 minutes. The 2024 accident registry indicates that B Ward registered 22 traffic collisions involving pedestrians, double the city’s average.
• Economic Disruption: Small businesses in Dongri rely on foot traffic. Closed or congested lanes lead to a 12 per cent decline in average daily sales, reported by the Merchant Association of Mumbai.
• Education: For the growing number of students heading to local institutions—such as the National Law School and K.J. Somaiya College—unreliable water and traffic conditions impair daily commute reliability, affecting attendance and performance.

For international students and part‑time workers, the uncertain infrastructure means unpredictable rent, limited public transport links and safety risks, underscoring a pressing need for smart city technology that is inclusive, user‑friendly and tailored to densely populated pockets.

Expert Insights / Tips

Smart Waste Management: Residents should coordinate with local NGOs such as Brotherhood Medical Aid to schedule “community clean‑up days.” Mohamed Imran K Gujarati, president of the NGO in Dongri, recommends residents follow a simple triage system: segregate combustible, biodegradable, and recyclable waste. This method improves the efficiency of the smart bins and lowers the frequency of manual pickups.

Using Traffic Apps: The BMC Connect app still offers real‑time traffic data. Employees and students are asked to plan alternate routes through the Red Drive or Colaba lanes, which maintain better flow during peak hours. Additionally, the “Mumbai Metro Quick‑Guide,” a separate app released in 2024, includes real‑time train schedules for commuters taking the Metro Line‑1 from Dadar to Wadala.

Water Conservation: Given low water pressure, installing low‑flow tap fittings and dual‑flush toilets can reduce consumption by up to 30 per cent, according to a study by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay’s Water Systems Group.

The BMC’s public safety training, launched in April 2024, provides a “quick‑response checklist” for residents to use in emergencies. Residents also benefit from the city’s 911 mobile number that connects directly to local police and fire departments.

Looking Ahead

The BMC’s future roadmap suggests a more integrated approach to urban problems. In 2025, the city will launch a pilot “Integrated City Solutions” programme that merges waste management, traffic signalling and water supply frameworks under a single dashboard. The BMC’s Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Sharma says, “We aspire to use machine learning to predict garbage overflow and traffic bottlenecks weeks ahead, thereby enabling pre‑emptive action.”

In collaboration with the World Bank’s Smart City Initiative, the city plans to enhance wireless connectivity across the ward by 2026, ensuring that 85 per cent of smart devices can communicate in real time. This upgrade will allow for seamless data integration, a cornerstone that smart city technology demands.

For students and professionals, the forthcoming “Smart Citizen” scheme offers a badge‑based incentive system—when residents log their community clean‑ups or traffic reports in the BMC Connect app, they earn points redeemable for utilities subsidies or metro tickets.

The overarching message is clear: smart city technology, while promising, must be holistic. It must embed waste management and traffic solutions that are responsive to the unique challenges of historically dense neighbourhoods like B Ward. Continuous stakeholder engagement, user‑centric design, and robust data analytics will be the pillars that ensure the promised digital transformation translates into tangible, livable improvements for Mumbai’s residents.

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