India, Dec. 12 -- The Maharashtra government's recent decision to order an audit of the Swachcha Mumbai Prabodhan Abhiyan (SMPA) has brought long-standing concerns around the city's slum sanitation network back into focus.

The scheme, earlier known as the Dattak Vasti Yojana, was conceived in 2001 to improve hygiene in informal settlements through community participation. It was revamped in 2013 and reintroduced as the SMPA.

The SMPA is critical to Mumbai's waste-collection chain because it handles the initial collection and transfer of garbage from slum pockets to municipal transport points.

Under the rules, one unit must adopt 150 families-or a population of about 750-and deploy at least 15 sanitation workers. However, it was alleged...