Mumbai, Feb 01: Increasing its on-ground inspections followed by action, the flying squads of the BMC have issued a total of 1,206 stop-work notices to construction sites for non-compliance with air pollution mitigation guidelines.
Of these, 187 stop-work notices and 157 show-cause notices were issued in the 10-day period from January 16 to 27. However, although the action appears stringent on paper, practical enforcement has been negligible.
Over 2,200 active construction sites
As per civic data, within the BMC jurisdiction, there are 2,224 active construction sites in Mumbai. Extensive construction activities, including government and private projects, are proving to be a major source of air and dust pollution in the city and pose a challenge for authorities to ensure full compliance with air pollution mitigation measures at these sites.
Work continues despite notices
Residents complain that several sites, such as the Sion flyover, Worli BDD Chawl and many other projects that have been issued stop-work notices for violating air pollution control norms, continue work without hesitation. In fact, on Saturday, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar visited the Sion ROB project site and instructed that work be completed within the given deadline.
When The Free Press Journal asked the BMC’s Environment and Climate Change (E&CC) department how work was continuing at the Sion ROB despite a stop-work notice issued by designated officers, senior officials said, “We will look into it.”
Activists flag enforcement gaps
Godfrey Pimenta, founder of Watchdog Foundation, said there are several sites in Mumbai where stop-work notices are issued for violating air pollution control norms, but enforcement on the ground remains weak.
“The people on the ground often have no idea whether the controlling authority is the BMC or the MPCB. On Sunday, the construction site opposite showed AQI levels above 300. What action are authorities taking against these elevated readings when the BMC claims live monitors are integrated with their systems? I have written to the BMC Commissioner, Environment Secretary and MPCB regarding inadequate enforcement of air pollution norms by the BMC and MPCB,” Pimenta said.
Inspection and monitoring data
The action-taken report from the BMC’s E&CC department for January 16 to 27 states that during the 10 days, a total of 1,164 sites were visited. Of these, 159 sites were issued show-cause notices, 187 sites were issued stop-work notices, deep cleaning with water tankers was carried out at 300 sites, and deep cleaning with misting was done at 120 sites.
The status report on sensor-based air quality monitoring installation as of January 29 states that of the 2,224 ongoing construction sites within BMC limits, 2,021 sites have sensor-based air quality monitoring installed. Of these, 1,454 sensor-based monitors are integrated with the Central Air Quality Monitoring Dashboard, while 1,215 monitors are relaying data to the central dashboard.
BMC response on air quality
The E&CC department said, “The AQI of Mumbai is under control compared to last year. Enforcement on the ground is a challenge, but our teams are putting in all efforts. Apart from construction sites, vehicular pollution is also a major source of air pollution in Mumbai.”
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Air quality snapshot
Several areas in Mumbai recorded AQI levels above 130 on Sunday. As per Central Pollution Control Board data, the overall AQI of Mumbai on Sunday was 105, which falls in the ‘moderate’ category. Areas with the highest AQI were Chakala–Andheri East (139), CSMIA T2 (136), Deonar (135), Mulund West (130), Sion (126) and Ghatkopar (124).
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