MUMBAI, Feb. 6 -- In a first-of-its-kind move, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to authorise junior supervisors to impose penalties for civic offences and enter housing societies to take action against the burning of garbage. The decision follows the notification of revised Solid Waste Management (SWM) bye-laws and includes a significant expansion of the role of junior supervisors, who were earlier limited to supervising sweeping operations and garbage transportation. Around 350 junior supervisors will now be empowered to penalise offences such as littering, spitting, garbage burning and other hygiene- and sanitation-related violations. They will be issued authorisation certificates allowing them to enter housing society premises, especially in cases involving pollution caused by garbage burning. The move comes in the wake of the scrapping of the much-criticised clean-up marshal system, which was marred by repeated complaints of corruption and misbehaviour. Unlike marshals, who were contract workers, junior supervisors are permanent civic employees, a factor the BMC says will ensure greater accountability. "Under the MMC Act, 1888, the power to penalise rests with the municipal commissioner, but this authority has now been delegated to junior supervisors," said Vinayak Bhat, chief engineer, solid waste management. "Garbage is often burnt by security guards during the night, and we receive several complaints. These officers will now be able to directly enter premises and take action." Bhat said this was the first time junior supervisors were being granted penal powers. "This is an additional responsibility. They will be trained and their capacity will be built to handle enforcement as well as public interaction," he said. To curb corruption and ensure transparency, the BMC plans to equip supervisors with gadgets linked to an app-based system. "They will function like RTO enforcement officers. Photographs of the offence and the offender will be taken, and fines will be generated digitally through a QR-code-based system," Bhat said, adding that this would prevent the kind of malpractice seen under the clean-up marshal system. The supervisors will also be trained on appropriate conduct and on educating housing societies about waste management norms. At a later stage, they are expected to be provided uniforms and patrol bikes to aid enforcement. The new system is likely to be rolled out by next week. The BMC issued a circular on the implementation of penalty provisions under the Solid Waste Management Bye-laws, 2025, on February 3....