BMC Issues Notices for Construction Violations

Mumbai Air Pollution Control Measures: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)

1. Stop Work Notices:

   • 53 construction sites in Mumbai received 'stop work' notices for violating air pollution control guidelines.
   • Main areas affected:
     • Siddharth Nagar, G South zone: 17 sites
     • Mazgaon, E zone: 5 sites
     • Malad (West), P North zone: 31 sites

2. Air Quality Monitoring:

   • 662 sensor-based Air Quality Index (AQI) measuring plants installed at construction sites.
   • 251 additional plants under installation.
   • 400 plants linked to a centralized dashboard, but 117 plants inactive.

3. Regulatory Actions:

   • Strict enforcement promised if AQI sensor plants are found inactive at construction sites.
   • Meeting conducted with Environment and Climate Change Department, CEEW (Centralized Dashboard Developer), and 15 sensor monitoring vendors.

4. Guidelines and Compliance Measures:

   • Adopted measures from guidelines issued on October 15 cover 28 points for air pollution control:
     • Installation of fences at sites.
     • Air pollution measurement systems.
     • Use of smoke absorbers.
     • Covering construction sites with green cloth.
     • Dust control through water spraying and proper transport/storage.

5. Bakeries Clean Fuel Initiative:

   • Out of 593 bakeries in Mumbai, only 209 currently operate on clean fuel.
   • 57 bakeries converted to clean fuel in the last six months.
   • 75 bakeries initiated clean fuel transition.
   • 88 bakeries have applied for Mahanagar Gas.

6. Other Initiatives:

   • Implementation of electric buses.
   • Projects launched to process construction debris.
   • Routine road dust control through water spraying.

Importance: These measures are critical in addressing air pollution in Mumbai, complying with health and environmental standards, and demonstrate the civic body's commitment to environmental sustainability and public health.