Mumbai: To strengthen air quality monitoring infrastructure, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) will set up 15 new Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) ahead of the winter season.
As per MPCB officials, three new stations each will be installed in Thane, Vasai-Virar, and Kalyan-Dombivli, while Mira-Bhayander, Ulhasnagar, and Bhiwandi-Nizampur will get two each. The estimated cost of each station is Rs 9 crore, as reported by The Indian Express.
This development comes in response to long-standing demands from environmental experts and researchers, who have expressed concerns over the deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mumbai and its adjoining areas.
Currently, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) dashboard indicates that Mumbai has 26 operational AQI monitoring stations, run jointly by the MPCB, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). However, the number of such stations in the broader MMR remains inadequate, as reported.
At present, Thane has only two operational stations (Kasarvadavali and Upvan Fort), while Bhiwandi (Gokul Nagar), Kalyan (Khadakpada), Ulhasnagar (Siddhi Vinayak Nagar), Virar (Vilanj), and Mira-Bhayander (Bhayander West) each have just one. Notably, Dombivli currently has no AQI monitoring station.
According to the report, an MPCB official told The Indian Express, "The work order for acquiring these stations has been issued, and they will be supplied to us in a phased manner starting next month. Before winter, when the city’s AQI usually worsens, we will have more stations in place to monitor and identify areas which record poor AQI and will be able to mitigate them accordingly."
“The plan of augmenting the number of monitoring stations is part of a larger project where we intend to install more than 50 monitoring stations across Maharashtra,” the official added.
