The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will take strict action against developers and construction contractors who fail to control dust at construction sites and adjoining roads, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide said during a review meeting on Mumbai air pollution measures.
Bhide directed civic officials to strictly implement the BMC’s 28-point guidelines for controlling air pollution. The directions require construction-related pollution controls to be implemented on the ground, with departments instructed to conduct regular inspections and act promptly when violations are found.
Developers and contractors have been assigned responsibility for keeping construction areas clean, preventing dust from spreading into the air and complying with prescribed construction-site regulations. The commissioner also directed officials to ensure that roads adjoining construction sites are addressed as part of the dust-control measures.
The directions underline a recurring enforcement challenge for Mumbai: pollution-control rules must operate at construction sites and on surrounding public roads rather than remain limited to official instructions. The BMC said departments would have to coordinate their work and regularly inspect whether the prescribed measures were being followed.
Bhide also ordered action against those responsible if air-quality monitoring stations, sensors and related equipment were found switched off or displaying inaccurate readings. Officials were instructed to keep the systems operational and ensure that they provided accurate data.
The monitoring directions place operational reliability alongside enforcement. Air-quality systems are used to display pollution readings, and the BMC has asked officials to take strict action wherever equipment is not functioning or the data shown is incorrect. The source report did not specify the number of affected stations, the nature of any existing faults or the penalties that would be applied.
The civic body was further directed to use modern equipment for road cleaning and organise special cleanliness drives to control dust. Officials were asked to coordinate these efforts to achieve tangible improvements in Mumbai’s air quality.
The review meeting also examined implementation of the Bombay High Court’s directions on noise pollution from firecrackers and its health impacts. According to the BMC, the court has prohibited bursting firecrackers on public roads, lanes and footpaths, as well as in silence zones around schools, hospitals, government offices and courts.
Bhide directed civic officials to ensure compliance with the restrictions at ward level. The BMC was also asked to conduct public-awareness campaigns on the health risks associated with noise pollution and firecrackers, working with local public representatives and organising initiatives for students in government and private schools.
The commissioner urged citizens to use green firecrackers instead of those that cause higher pollution. Additional Municipal Commissioner Eastern Suburbs Avinash Dhakane, Deputy Commissioner Municipal Commissioner’s Office Prashant Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner Environment and Climate Change Avinash Kate, zonal joint commissioners, deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners attended the meeting.
