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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Shinde hauls up Shirsat as BJP fumes over controversial visit

Mumbai: In a glaring display of internal friction within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly issued a stern reprimand to Shiv Sena leader and social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat. The dressing-down comes in the wake of Shirsat’s highly controversial visit to the family of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the newly floated Cockroach Janta Party. The meeting has touched a raw nerve within the Bharatiya Janata Party, turning into a major...

Shinde hauls up Shirsat as BJP fumes over controversial visit

Mumbai: In a glaring display of internal friction within Maharashtra’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has reportedly issued a stern reprimand to Shiv Sena leader and social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat. The dressing-down comes in the wake of Shirsat’s highly controversial visit to the family of Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the newly floated Cockroach Janta Party. The meeting has touched a raw nerve within the Bharatiya Janata Party, turning into a major flashpoint between the alliance partners and raising serious questions about their internal coordination. The political storm began brewing when Shirsat called upon Dipke’s residence in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on July 26. The visit immediately raised eyebrows in the BJP camp, given that Dipke’s recent agitations have been squarely aimed at the saffron party, with direct rhetorical attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The simmering anger boiled over during Shah’s visit to Pune on August 1, where the Union Home Minister is said to have expressed his profound displeasure over the Sena minister’s diplomatic faux pas. Taking immediate cognizance of the BJP’s mounting outrage, Shinde reportedly summoned Shirsat over a phone call, demanding a swift explanation and firmly reprimanding him for the political indiscretion. However, neither the government nor party officials have issued an on-the-record confirmation of these developments. Political Battle Despite the fierce political backlash, Shirsat has stubbornly stood his ground, offering a personal justification for the contentious rendezvous. Defending his actions, the minister clarified that his ties with the Dipke family go back a long way and that he firmly believes in keeping political battles separate from personal relationships. He further noted that Abhijeet Dipke was in Delhi during the time of the visit, and the meeting was strictly limited to Dipke’s parents. Shirsat also pointed out that he had deliberately avoided visiting the family earlier to steer clear of the ongoing political controversies, though his belated visit seems to have done little to prevent a political firestorm. For the BJP, the visit is not just a matter of poor optics but a glaring breach of alliance protocol. Senior BJP leaders are reportedly furious that they were kept completely in the dark, insisting that the party leadership should have been informed in advance before a sitting Mahayuti minister extended an olive branch to a vocal critic. This lack of communication has once again brought the fragile issue of coordination within the Mahayuti alliance to the forefront, prompting the BJP to officially register its objection. Disciplinary Action The controversy has now sparked intense speculation about whether Shinde will wield the same disciplinary stick against MLC Bachchu Kadu. Kadu recently stirred the pot by not only meeting Dipke but doing so in the company of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Chandrakant Khaire. The BJP has already been nursing a grievance against Shinde for generously accommodating Kadu with a legislative council seat from his party’s own quota. As the dust refuses to settle on these controversial meetings, political circles in Maharashtra are watching with bated breath to see if this episode will further vitiate the atmosphere within the Mahayuti or trigger a fresh set of consequential political realignments.

India's Recycling Revolution Left Its Workers Behind

The workers who have sustained urban recycling systems for decades remain excluded from the benefits of the very circular economy they helped build.

In continuation of my last week’s article, the introduction and subsequent strengthening of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework were expected to create significant opportunities for waste pickers. These workers already recover and channel a substantial proportion of post-consumer plastic waste into recycling streams.


In practice, however, EPR implementation has largely bypassed and marginalised the informal waste management sector.


The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' Circular Economy Action Plan (2023) emphasises technological innovation, digital tracking systems and public-private partnerships. However, it does not contain adequate provisions for the systematic inclusion of informal waste pickers.


This is a significant gap, considering that their labour forms the backbone of urban recycling systems across the country.


Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs), which coordinate collection and recycling activities on behalf of producers, have overwhelmingly partnered with mechanised recycling facilities, formal aggregators and corporate waste management firms.


As a result, waste pickers—despite their long-standing contribution to resource recovery—remain largely excluded from the benefits generated by the EPR regime.


By marginalising waste pickers, the circular economy narrative risks becoming little more than greenwashing, where environmental claims obscure persistent social inequalities and labour exclusions.


Without meaningful inclusion of these workers, the transition to a circular economy cannot be considered truly equitable or sustainable.


The responsibility for integrating informal waste workers into formal waste management systems has already been recognised in Indian law.


Rule 15(z) of the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, places a clear obligation on Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Village Panchayats to identify, organise and integrate waste pickers and recyclers into municipal solid waste management systems.


The rule requires local authorities to facilitate the formation of self-help groups, cooperatives and other authorised entities. It also mandates the participation of waste pickers in door-to-door collection and source segregation activities.


In addition, local bodies are required to issue identity cards and provide access to safety equipment, healthcare facilities, social security benefits and training programmes.


These measures are intended to support the transition of waste pickers and recyclers into the formal economy while recognising their critical role in waste management.Despite these statutory obligations, implementation remains weak across many cities.


Urban local bodies often prefer awarding waste management contracts to private companies that present themselves as technologically advanced and professionally managed service providers. These firms promise scientific waste management through mechanised collection vehicles, material recovery facilities, waste-to-energy technologies and sanitary landfills. As a result, municipal authorities frequently perceive informal waste pickers as inefficient, unorganised and incompatible with modern waste management systems.


This preference for corporate contractors has often displaced existing informal collection networks, undermining both the livelihoods of waste pickers and the broader goal of inclusive waste management.


Private contractors often claim exclusive rights over designated service areas and prohibit waste pickers from collecting recyclable materials within those territories. Consequently, individuals who have depended on waste collection and recycling for decades can suddenly lose access to their primary source of income.


While policy discourse increasingly celebrates circularity, resource efficiency and sustainability, the very workers who have long practised these principles through reuse, repair and recycling remain excluded from formal recognition and economic benefits.


A genuinely inclusive circular economy requires more than technological innovation and private-sector participation. It must also ensure the meaningful integration, protection and empowerment of informal waste pickers whose labour has sustained urban recycling systems for decades. Will continue next week. Till then, have a great weekend!


(The writer is an environmentalist. Views personal.)

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