Vadodara: In a unique move to tackle public littering, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has begun flashing photos of people caught dumping garbage in public spaces on large LED screens installed at key city crossroads. These screens, usually used for advertisements and civic messages, now double up as a public awareness tool.Over the past month alone, the civic body displayed images of 70 people caught littering across the city. The initiative is part of VMC’s intensified crackdown on public nuisance, including open garbage disposal, urination, and spitting.Using its extensive CCTV network and City Command and Control Center (CCCC), the corporation has identified nearly 500 such offenders since Jan this year. “We forward these images to the respective ward offices for further action,” said Manish Bhatt, director of VMC’s IT department. “We have high-resolution cameras and a robust surveillance system that supports our cleanliness efforts.”The campaign gained momentum after new municipal commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu assumed office. Under his leadership, VMC adopted a stricter policy, including the imposition of maximum fines and other measures to improve sanitation standards.“Displaying these images is part of our broader initiative to instill civic responsibility,” Bhatt explained. “It’s not meant to shame individuals, but to raise awareness about the consequences of littering.”Despite concerns over public exposure, VMC officials said that most faces in the images are unclear. So far, no individual has approached the corporation objecting to their photo being shown on screens or posted on social media.Vadodara’s inconsistent performance in the national Swachh Survekshan rankings has also pushed the civic body to adopt more visible and aggressive steps. Once among the top 10 cleanest cities, Vadodara had dropped to the 33rd position in recent years before making a modest recovery.
