The iconic headquarters of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai MCGM ) — also known as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which allows it to retain the acronym BMC from when Mumbai was Bombay — oozes British-era charm. It is majestic, with wide stairways and sloping ceilings adding to its mystique. However, for the man at the helm, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta, life is hardly charming or mystical. A large part of his duties is about dirt, grime and cleaning up — the city as well as the corporation. The richest municipal corporation in India, MCGM’s budget — in excess of Rs 37,000 crore — is more than what India’s largest integrated power company Tata Power spends in a year (consolidated expenses for 2015-16 at Rs 35,540 crore). But with half of Mumbai’s 2 crore population living in slums, cleaning the 434 sq km of Mumbai is tough.The garbage adds up to 9,000 tonnes per day, and there are 117 open defecation spots across the city. Diseases like dengue and tuberculosis have grown in 2012-16 (See Mumbai’s Municipal Challenges). Then there are corruption allegations. With elections around the corner in February 2017, political jibes are commonplace — from BJP MP Kirit Somaiya alleging there’s a mafia in the MCGM to comedian Kapil Sharma complaining of a bribe demand (although that charge backfired spectacularly with the civic body accusing him of violations at his office and home). “The MCGM has deteriorated, the probity and honesty of the bureaucracy is at a low ebb, and greed has entered the system,” said DM Sukhtankar, a former municipal commissioner who later became chief secretary of Maharashtra.Mehta, it would seem, has to reckon with two kinds of dirt. He deals with the physical muck with an action plan. The ethical one, he insists, is another story.Mehta found early success with cleaning up the city. In February 2016, 11 months into his tenure, the Swachh Bharat survey ranked Greater Mumbai at No. 10 out of 73. New Delhi came in fourth. “I am from Delhi, and Mumbai is definitely cleaner,” Mehta told ET Magazine.At the MCGM, the state government-appointed commissioner rules the roost as executive head while the municipal council and the mayor are largely restricted to legislation.Here’s Mehta’s clean-up plan: the MCGM has identified 3,000 open garbage bins to be replaced with stationary closed compactors; new garbage processing stations are being installed in every ward. The bylanes of the slums are swept daily and garbage is collected at doorsteps.Around 2,500 new toilets are being built with community-based management, and pay-and-use facilities are being spruced up. “We can build toilets, but unless the community is involved, the toilets won’t be used,” says Mehta. In the next few months, almost 1 lakh existing toilets will be connected with running water and electricity. Mehta wants Mumbai to be free of open defecation by March 2017.Also, all MCGM schools will now have girls’ toilets equipped with sanitary napkin dispensers and incinerators. Alongside, there are 690 clean-up marshals to fine people littering or urinating in public.The Shiv Sena, with 75 of 227 seats, controls the MCGM’s legislative arm, with the BJP as an ally. In the 2012 polls, the duo were short of the halfway mark of 114 but managed to get control with the help of others. Ties have soured since. Control over the MCGM is key for the Sena, a stranglehold that BJP wants to break in 2017.Mehta did not want to comment on corruption. However, action can speak louder than words. Since taking over, he has shifted many of the processes online, and has initiated action against MCGM staff for dereliction of duty and certification of work done by contractors. He has tried to stop funds leakage as well.Sukhtankar strongly supports Mehta’s efforts. But he says: “Every building proposal that needs to be cleared can be a source of corruption, and realty is the biggest problem. Action cannot be taken because of the nexus between the elected representatives and the bureaucracy.”MCGM commissioner Ajoy Mehta wants Mumbai to be free of open defecation by March 2017. The plan target coincides nicely with the municipal polls in February 20173,000 open garbage bins to be replaced by stationary compactors in 2/3 monthsIncrease garbage processing capacity by 4,000 tonnes by building a station in every wardMake Mumbai open defecation free by March 2017 by building 2,500 new toiletsGovt and MCGM to pay for household toilets and sewer linesBuild toilets, if necessary even double-decker onesImprove pay-and-use toilets across city, build new onesEnsure light and water in every toilet in 6 monthsUpgrade toilets in schools, especially for girlsBuild community-based organisations to maintain toilets