Construction work halted amid poor air quality in Mumbai

MUMBAI: BMC halts construction in Borivali East and Byculla due to poor air quality, with real estate developers expressing dissatisfaction.

MUMBAI: In view of the haze enveloping Mumbai in recent days, civic authorities have halted all public and private construction work in Borivali East and Byculla, where air quality has been poor in recent times. Two other localities, Navy Nagar and Worli, are also under the civic scanner, and construction work here too will be suspended if the Air Quality Index (AQI) dips.

Construction work halted amid poor air quality in Mumbai

Real estate developers are unhappy with the stop-work order issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), while environmental experts say the BMC’s action is welcome but not a long-term solution to Mumbai’s poor air quality.

The AQI in Borivali East and Navy Nagar inched closer to ‘very poor’ levels through the month of December, while Byculla and Worli fluctuated between ‘moderate’ and ‘poor’ levels in the last six days. Particulate matter (PM 2.5) at these AQI monitoring stations peaked to very high levels at various times throughout the month. Air quality, however, has improved since. On Monday, Mumbai recorded an average AQI of 112, while Byculla recorded 112 and Borivali East 102 (all ‘moderate’).

“Construction will be stopped in areas that see an AQI above 200, according to the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP- 4),” said municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani. “Of the 877 construction sites in the city, a stop-work notice has been sent to 286 construction sites. “We will follow up to make sure the notices are followed. If not, legal action will be taken,” added Gagrani. He clarified that road concretisation work would not be halted, except in Borivali East and Byculla, as it needs to be completed before the monsoon next year.

He said long-term solutions in line with the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP) would be implemented by the BMC, which includes shutting illegal bakeries, getting legal bakeries to switch to clean fuel, and purchasing electric BEST buses.

Keval Valambhia, Chief Operating Officer, CREDAI-MCHI, said, “We are committed to following the directives issued. The real estate industry has always supported the cause to have a better environment. In fact, CREDAI-MCHI had issued an advisory on the same on October 11.”

Realtors, however, are not happy with the BMC’s directive. One developer pointed out that the dust generated by the many mega public projects underway across Mumbai contributes significantly to air pollution. “It is convenient for the BMC to blame the real estate industry and claim that we contribute 40% of the overall pollution in Mumbai, but what about public projects? How do they get environmental approvals so easily?”

The developer also said the BMC should apprise the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority about the suspension in construction activity, so that builders would not be hauled up for extensions in project deadlines do to this action.

Avinash Dhakne, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, member secretary, said, the AQI fluctuation is a result of local weather conditions and westerly disturbances. “Eventually the wind will blow away the air pollutants into the sea and AQI will fall to moderate levels. Along with various factors contributing to the AQI, natural weather conditions contributed to the haze and pollution.”

Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director, Centre for Science and Environment, said, “The implementation of short-term measures is only to prevent pollution from worsening to the extent that the wind will not be able to push it out. The overall AQI will only improve when year-round strong actions are taken towards sustainability.”