BMC issues 78 stop-work notices to construction sites, also halts road repair work

Mumbai’s AQI has since improved and is currently in the moderate category. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wants to bolster measures to keep dust arising from construction work, a significant contributor to air pollution, in check. In line with this, the civic body on Tuesday stopped giving permission for road repair work across the city, stating that it is also directing its focus on minor factors that contribute to air pollution.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report at 4 pm on Tuesday, the average AQI of Mumbai was 126 (moderate), while PM 2.5 and Ozone 3 were recorded as prominent pollutants.

On Monday, the BMC had announced that construction work would be halted in areas with AQI above 200, under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4). This included public and private construction projects, except for road concretisation work. To implement the order, the BMC has deployed workers to inspect construction sites under the 28-point guidelines, and check if they have an Environment Management Plan (EMP) in place. Failure to demonstrate an EMP resulted in stop-work notices being issued to 33 construction sites in Byculla and 45 in Borivali East, areas that consistently recorded AQI in the ‘poor’ category in December. If a stop-work notice is ignored, legal action will be initiated under Section 52 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.

“Currently, the overall AQI of the city is in the moderate category. We will continue to monitor air quality for the next eight days in Borivali East and Byculla and then take a call on further action,” said Avinash Dhakne, member-secretary, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. Meanwhile, Navy Nagar and Worli remain under the scanner as these areas too have registered high AQI levels.