All construction work to be stopped in Borivali East in next 24 hours: Mumbai civic body chief

BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani holds a meeting with BMC officials on Monday.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani held a meeting on Monday over the issue of pollution and the deteriorating air quality in the city.

After the meeting, Gagrani informed, "BMC has decided to shut down all construction work, including public project work, in Borivali East in the next 24 hours as these areas witness an Air Quality Index above 200 continuously. All sites in the area areas will be allowed to start work after they prove that the Dust Mitigation Guidelines have been followed."

BMC has attributed the rise in pollution to climate change, along with vehicular emissions, and dust from construction sites.

It has introduced some urgent, short-term measures to control air pollution in Mumbai. They are as follows:

A total of 45 air quality control machines have been installed to check the air quality at various places in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). This includes 28 machines in the areas within the BMC's jurisdiction. These devices measure air quality in real-time which will help in identifying the polluted locations and implementing appropriate measures.

All the departments of the municipal corporation have to identify the effects of air pollution and climate change and take action on it unitedly. These include the Environment and Climate Change Department, the Solid Waste Management Department, the Building Proposal Department, the Roads and Transport Department and the Administrative Division Office (Wards).

The Mumbai civic body has released detailed guidelines on 28 issues and environmental management plan for the projects it has undertaken. Along with this, it has also released detailed guidelines with 28 points to reduce pollution caused by construction projects.

The civic body has directed that under-construction structures should be completely enclosed with green cloth/jute/tarpaulin on all four sides.

Further, it is mandatory for the project promoters/building developers and architectural project (mechanical and electrical) contractors to prepare an Environmental Management Plan (EMP).

The civic body's Environment and Climate Change Department has inspected 877 construction projects from November till date.

If the projects fail to comply with the rules, they will be issued an intimation in writing. If rules are still not followed, the projects will be issued a 'show cause notice' and then 'stop work notice'.

BMC has already issued the 'stop work notice' in about 286 places.

Long-term strategies

The civic body will coordinate with various government agencies and stakeholders to implement long-term strategies. These include improving the quality of roads, increasing public transport services through the metro and promoting sustainable urban transport.

The Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP) is being implemented to address the root causes of air pollution. As part of the plan, misting plants for dust control as well as water sprinklers, mechanical cleaning machines for deep cleaning of roads, jetting are available along with water tankers at the block level.

The process of procuring about 100 dust absorption plants to control dust on the road is underway.

According to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), 356 wood/coal-based bakery units will be converted to clean fuel within a year.

Legal action is being taken to close down 77 polluting bakeries.

As many as 41 wood-based crematoriums of BMC have been converted to clean fuels like piped natural gas (PNG)/electricity. The municipal corporation also plans to convert 225 crematoriums into clean fuel.

A total of 2,100 single-decker and 200 double-decker electric buses are being procured for the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking to make public transport services more environment-friendly. Currently, 299 single-decker and 50 double-decker electric buses are available.

The BMC has initiated penal action for 352 cases of open burning of waste from November 4, 2023 to December 10, 2024.

A total of 67 tankers of 5,000-litre capacity and 39 tankers of 9,000-litre capacity are used every day to control dust on the road. From November 13, 2023, to December 20, 2024, about 5,820 km of roads have been washed, BMC informed.

BMC has used the misting machines on 3,311 kilometres of road to control dust in air from November 13, 2023, to December 20, 2024.

Initiatives by Solid Waste Management Department

BMC's Solid Waste Management Department has undertaken a special cleanliness drive from December 25 to improve air quality and control air pollution.

It has so far cleaned 634 long roads, close to around 1,252 km, with water with the use of 480 tankers, misting machines, and firex machines.

A total of 342 tonnes of dust along the road have been collected by soil sweeping machines.

Till Monday, 939 tonnes of construction debris has been lifted.

More than 350 clean-up marshals have been deployed to keep an eye on illegal debris dumping.

Strict measures to be taken if the Air Quality Index is consistently above 200

Under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4), if the air quality index (AQI) continues to be above 200, industries and construction activities in the area will be shut down.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) has been directed to take action against polluting readymix concrete vehicles.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) will shut down readymix concrete plants, stone crushers and hot mix plants.

BMC has asked citizens to cooperate to mitigate the issue of air pollution in the city and accordingly adopt an eco-friendly lifestyle.

For citizens

Citizens are being urged to use public transport as much as possible, reduce the use of private vehicles, and avoid burning garbage in the open.

The Mumbai civic body has asked residents to avoid running, jogging or any strenuous physical exercise/exertion on days when the air quality index is poor to very poor.

Mumbaikars have been asked to avoid bursting firecrackers when the pollution levels are high.

BMC has appealed to citizens to avoid consumption of alcohol, tobacco and meat.

A wet sponge should be used to clean the house. Avoid burning incense sticks in the house, BMC appealed.

The civic body has also appealed to citizens to eat a healthy diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. If residents develop fever, cough, cold or have trouble breathing, they should immediately contact a doctor. Citizens have also been urged to use a disposable mask while stepping out during high levels of pollution.