India, Aug. 12 -- The civic administration has declared a war on garbage - one of Mumbai's most stubborn and persistent challenges. Having identified 231 garbage vulnerable points (GVPs), the BMC claims to have "eliminated" 49 since the drive kicked off in December last year.

These results have been achieved by ramping up garbage-collection infrastructure at these spots, imposing penalties, and sometimes by deploying innovative methods.

However, civic watchdog groups and residents say a clean-up of this scale is about more than simple arithmetic. While the BMC's drive may deliver impressive initial results, they question whether these gains can be sustained.

Civic officials claim they have used a unique approach - trying to figure out ...