Mumbai air pollution: BMC tells builders, contractors to follow dust mitigation norms

Air quality in the city has been poor for the past few days. File pic

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has served notices to over 100 contractors and real estate firms involved in private and government projects across Mumbai asking them to comply with the dust mitigation norms or face consequences as the city grapples with poor air quality, stated a PTI report.

According to the report, the civic body's notice was directed at contractors and real estate firms in the P North civic ward in western Mumbai, specifically in the suburb of Malad. The initiative, reportedly, will enhance Mumbai's Air Quality Index (AQI).

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Kiran Dighavkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner of P-North ward, was quoted in the PTI report explaining that the notices were issued to 97 under-construction private sites and 27 under-construction government projects--including roads, stormwater drains and bridges in Malad area--totalling 124. The letters instruct them to adhere to dust mitigation and other anti-pollution guidelines, with potential actions if they fail to comply, he said.

"We have issued (identically worded) letters to all of them to follow (dust mitigation and other anti-pollution) guidelines failing which necessary actions will be initiated," Dighavkar said.

Recently, the civic body introduced a new set of guidelines for mitigating air pollution in Mumbai, giving builders and contractors one month to obtain sprinklers and fogging machines for construction sites.

While the civic administration has not issued stop-work notices to construction firms at this point, Dighavkar clarified that the letters serve to ensure that builders and contractors implement basic preventive measures against air pollution until they acquire the necessary equipment.

Furthermore, BMC's P-north ward has issued a notice to the contractor responsible for the ambitious Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project in the western suburbs, instructing them to follow air pollution mitigation guidelines. "All the work of constructing roads, drains, and bridges to be carried out by taking proper permission of construction and demolition. All the sites should have CCTV cameras to monitor vehicle movements," read the BMC notice to GMLR.

Earlier this week, Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar, who serves as the guardian minister of the Mumbai district, identified six technologies, including vehicle-mounted air filters, to reduce air pollution in the financial capital. As part of this effort, 350 buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking will be equipped with "vehicle-mounted filters" to remove impurities from dust and particles.

According to the latest data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Mumbai's overall AQI was recorded at 138 (moderate) on Friday. However, the air quality at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on the previous Friday morning was categorized as 'very poor' with an AQI of 301.