Mumbai, Jan 20: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday made it clear that it does not want merely “moderate” air quality for Mumbai while hearing a suo motu (on its own) petition on air pollution in the city.
The court was informed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that action had been taken against errant persons for non-compliance with air pollution mitigation rules.
When the bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Shyam Suman inquired about the city’s air quality, BMC counsel S.U. Kamdar responded, “It is moderate.” To this, the bench quipped, “We are not on moderate.”
AQI levels remain a concern
As per the BMC’s Sameer AQI app, Mumbai’s Air Quality Index (AQI) fluctuated between 101 and 116 over the past week, placing it in the ‘moderate’ category. The court, however, indicated dissatisfaction with this level.
BMC outlines action plan
An affidavit was filed by Avinash Kate, Chief Engineer (Environment and Climate Change), outlining the steps undertaken by the civic body to ensure strict implementation of anti-pollution guidelines.
The affidavit stated that pursuant to the High Court’s directions to file a status report showing “tangible and measurable results evidencing reduction in pollution levels”, the BMC had “immediately operationalised” an action plan for the next 15 days and beyond.
The corporation said it had taken note of the court-appointed committee’s report and undertaken “focused follow-up inspections and enforcement action” at construction sites across the city.
Based on the committee’s suggestions, the BMC issued a separate circular on January 8 titled Implementation of Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan for Roads and Bridges Construction Work.
Seasonal pollution trends cited
Submitting a comparative chart of AQI levels for the last four years, the BMC said Mumbai follows a consistent seasonal pattern, with higher pollution levels during winter months and lower levels during the monsoon. “This pattern reflects the combined influence of meteorology, dispersion conditions and emission activity levels,” the affidavit said.
Factors such as cooler temperatures, temperature inversion, reduced vertical mixing, and construction and traffic emissions were cited as reasons for elevated AQI levels.
Need for airshed-based approach
Mumbai’s airshed is strongly influenced by its coastal location, sea-land breeze circulation and seasonal wind reversal. “This emphasises that air quality management in Mumbai requires an airshed-based, multi-jurisdictional approach rather than isolated city-centric interventions, with coordinated control of local and regional emission sources for sustained improvement in ambient air quality,” the 315-page affidavit read.
Claims of improvement
The civic body claimed that compared to 2023, the AQI improved by 22% in 2024 and by 26% in 2025. It added that Mumbai, a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) non-attainment city, has recorded a significant decline in PM10 levels since the base year 2017, as per data on the CPCB’s PRANA Clean Air Portal.
Enforcement measures detailed
During the last hearing in December 2025, the High Court had issued a slew of directions to the BMC and MPCB to bring down pollution levels in the city. The affidavit stated that 94 ward-level squads inspect a minimum of two sites every day. In addition, assistant and deputy municipal commissioners also conduct daily inspections of hotspots.
Between December 29, 2025 and January 13, the BMC issued 408 show-cause notices and 284 stop-work notices for non-compliance. Of the 1,954 ongoing construction sites in the city, 662 were issued stop-work notices for failing to install sensor-based air quality monitors within the prescribed deadline.
Tech-driven monitoring
The civic body added that it is in the process of developing an SMS-based alert system to notify authorities when PM10 and PM2.5 levels exceed the trigger threshold.
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The BMC has also procured 27 body-worn cameras for deployment in each ward for enforcement squads. The High Court, in the last hearing, had suggested that officers wear cameras during inspections to enable random and effective checks of multiple construction sites.
Next hearing
The High Court has kept the matter for hearing on January 23.
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