Navi Mumbai, Nov 27: Amid rising smog during the winter season, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has launched direct inspections of construction sites to ensure strict implementation of dust- and pollution-control measures.
Municipal Commissioner Dr. Kailas Shinde had earlier instructed department heads to intensify preventive measures, particularly by verifying compliance at active construction locations. He also directed that any site found violating norms should be shut down for a week.
Town Planning Engineers Assigned Zones for Field Checks
Following these orders, Assistant Director of Town Planning Somnath Kekaan has allocated inspection zones to engineers from the Town Planning Department and ward offices, who are now visiting construction sites to check air- and noise-pollution controls. Ward-level teams are also inspecting stone quarries, cement-based RMC plants, and bakeries or tandoor units using coal.
HC Suo Motu PIL Spurs Action; SOP Issued in August 2024
The initiative follows directions from the Bombay High Court, which, while hearing a suo motu PIL (No. 3/2023), ordered civic bodies to enforce pollution-control measures at construction sites. To comply, NMMC introduced a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on 1 August 2024 mandating dust, noise, and air-pollution mitigation at all construction locations.
SOP Specifies Barricades, Fogging, Wheel Wash, Covered Transport and More
According to the SOP, sites must install 20-foot metal barricades, use fogging and sprinkler systems, maintain wheel-wash facilities, transport loose materials only in fully covered vehicles, install CCTV cameras, keep adjoining footpaths and roads dust-free, store dust-generating materials under tarpaulin covers, ensure silencers and acoustic enclosures for DG sets, dispose of debris only at authorized locations, and restrict work to designated hours.
NMMC Alerts Developers on Mandatory Compliance
An NMMC official said, “Construction activity is one of the major contributors to urban air pollution, and strict enforcement is essential to protect public health during the smog-heavy winter months.”
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Penalties and Stop-Work Notices for Violators
The civic body has warned developers, contractors, and project proponents that adherence to the SOP is mandatory, and non-compliance will attract penalties and possible ‘stop-work’ action.
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