HC directs MPCB to present hiring plan for pollution audit

Bombay High Court directs MPCB to hire 1,310 personnel for pollution audit in Mumbai. Urges audit of "red" industries. Expert committee to report on source apportionment by June 20.

MUMBAI: Underlining the critical need for a pollution audit in Mumbai, the Bombay high court on Monday directed the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to present its plan of hiring 1,310 additional personnel to expedite the audit. The court also urged the state to prioritise audit of industries categorised as “red” by the MPCB.

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The bench of chief justice Devendra K Upadhyaya and justice Girish Kulkarni issued the directions when the court was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation. They emphasised that despite the impending parliamentary elections, the issue of unchecked air pollution in a city with a 2.1 million population could not be overlooked and necessary permissions could be taken from the election commission to expedite the staffing process.

Earlier directives from the court included a joint inspection of seven major public project sites by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and MPCB, with subsequent instructions to formulate a comprehensive plan to curb air pollution.

Advocate general Birendra Saraf informed the court about a recent coordination committee meeting chaired by the BMC commissioner. He said directives under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 were issued to municipal commissioners, corporations, municipal councils, the transport commissioner, and the Mumbai traffic police for rigorous air pollution monitoring.

The court recognised the necessity of additional staff for environmental audits, particularly in the context of industry categorisation based on pollution potential. According to MPCB guidelines, industries are classified into red, orange, green, and white categories, with red denoting high pollution potential (such as thermal power plants, refineries, and chemical industries), orange denoting medium potential (e.g., paper mills, sugar mills, dyeing units, and tanneries), green denoting low pollution potential (e.g., textile mills and food processing units), and white denoting non-polluting industries such as educational institutions.

Furthermore, Senior Advocate Darius Khambatta, serving as amicus curiae, highlighted a report recommending source apportionment as a long-term measure to mitigate air pollution. The report, prepared by experts from IIT Bombay and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), underscored the importance of identifying pollution sources for effective intervention.

In response, the high court constituted an expert committee comprising representatives from IIT Bombay, NEERI, and the principal secretary of the state government. The committee is due to submit a report on source apportionment during the next hearing scheduled for June 20.