HC extends deadline for clean-fuel bakeries to July 28

Offering a reason for this, the Bombay Bakers Association (BBA) stated that BMC was not giving permission to dig up roads during monsoon but BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijeet Bangar said no MGL connection was stuck due to lack of digging permission

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday restrained the BMC from taking action against 311 bakeries for not transitioning to cleaner fuels before the July 8 deadline, and extended the latter to July 28. The division bench of Justice M S Karnik and Justice N R Borkar passed the order on an application filed by Masoodul Hasan Khan and others, seeking more time to comply with the civic notice.

Mumbai, India - September 03, 2021: Bombay High Court at Fort, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, September 03, 2021. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

Subsequent to a high court order of January 9, the BMC had issued notices to all city bakeries that were being run on coal or wood, ordering them to shift to electric ovens or cleaner fuels like LPG or PNG by July 8. However, around 311 bakeries continue to function on conventional fuels.

Offering a reason for this, the Bombay Bakers Association (BBA) stated that the transition to cleaner fuels was hindered by the BMC itself. “Many bakeries have applied for gas connections from Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL),” said BBA president M Yakub. “But the BMC is not giving permission to dig up the newly laid concrete roads. Permission to dig is anyway difficult to get during the monsoon. We will need a year’s time to make the transition.”

When asked, additional municipal commissioner Abhijeet Bangar said that to the best of his knowledge, no MGL connection was stuck due to lack of digging permission. “Permission to dig up roads is not given during the monsoon except in emergency cases,” he said. “After the monsoon, an exception may be made for MGL, as their gas lines cannot go into ducts.” A BMC official from the environment department added a call on road-digging would be taken on a case-by-case basis.

The BMC official said that 46 of the 573 operational bakeries had made the switch. “Another 28 are in mid-transition,” he said. “One bakery has shut down. Prior to October, 187 bakeries were already running on clean fuel, leaving 311 bakeries—54% of the total bakeries—yet to make the switch. Just a few days ago, on July 3, we held another meeting with the BBA and health officials, answering all their queries about the switch.”

The official pegged the cost of making the switch at between ₹10 and 20 lakh and more, depending on the size of the bakery. “We have briefed the bakeries about a central government scheme that will give them a ₹1-crore loan, along with a ₹10 lakh subsidy,” he said. “MGL has also carried out a survey, showing that PNG connections for another 97 bakeries are possible and has agreed to extend the gas line till the bakery premises at its own cost. But the bakeries have to pay a security deposit.”