Air disaster upon Mumbai; Maharashtra govt mulls ₹300-crore mitigation plan

Maharashtra’s proposed clean-air programme would support municipalities with funding to reduce pollution as rapid urbanisation worsens air quality.

Worried about rising air pollution in various cities in Maharashtra, the state environment department plans to launch the Maharashtra Clean Air Programme (M-CAP). This would be a localised plan and would include financial assistance to civic bodies, enabling them to execute anti-air pollution measures. The sum it proposes to raise is ₹200-300 crore through funds from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).

View of Under-construction buildings with the Mumbai skyline in central Mumbai, India. Oct 24, 2026. (HT photo)

“Environment minister Pankaja Munde instructed civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to rein in air pollution on Friday. But it’s not just MMR; rapid urbanisation has made it a state-wide challenge,” said an official with the environment department. “That’s why the minister has suggested MCAP on the lines of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) launched by the central government in 2019,” he said.

MCAP would set local targets, and deadlines, to reduce air pollution. “However, many civic bodies lack the financial means to buy the equipment and machinery needed to do this. MCAP would provide these funds. MCAP details will be drafted within a month,” the official said.

With the state government already strapped for resources, initial funding, ₹200-300 crore, would come through the MPCB and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budgets of corporate companies, said the official adding, “MPCB earns over ₹600 crore annually from fines and other means.

He said that apart from gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides etc, the major challenge in curbing air pollution is reducing particulate matter. These are large particles consisting of dust or cement or the burning of coal.

The environment department will also hold meetings on air pollution in local bodies in the MMR. Civic bodies in Kalyan-Dombivli, Mira-Bhayandar and Navi Mumbai have complained about illegal debris being dumped in their jurisdiction, the official said. “The dumping is contributing to air pollution and they have sought the state government’s help because tackling the issue requires the involvement of other government departments like revenue, police and transport.