MPCB issues notice to MMR bakeries to switch to green fuel within 6 months

MPCB orders Mumbai bakeries to switch from firewood to green energy within six months to combat air pollution, following a high court directive.

MUMBAI: As part of its plan to reduce air pollution, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has issued a notice to bakeries in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to discard their firewood and coal ovens and shift to LPG, PNG, electricity and other sources of green energy in the next six months. The MPCB notice has come after the Bombay high court took up the issue of MMR’s alarming air pollution in a suo motu petition 18 months ago.

MPCB issues notice to MMR bakeries to switch to green fuel within 6 months

In January, the state government assured the court that it would make bakeries switch to non-polluting sources of energy by July. Municipal corporations have started serving notices to the establishments, while MPCB published general notices in newspapers on Saturday. MMR has over 15,000 bakeries, of which 1400-2000 are in Mumbai. To process a mere 20 kg of flour into paavs (small square-shaped breads) requires the burning of 4-5 kg of wood, and MMR’s bakeries produce 50 million paavs a day.

“While replying to the HC petition, we conducted an audit of the industry and found that about 6% of the pollution comes from bakeries and tandoor bhattis in hotels,” said an MPCB official. “Most of the bakeries are in residential areas, and with cities growing vertically, their chimneys send smoke upwards. Besides, they use poor-quality wood like the plywood sold by scrap dealers. This dumped wood contains hazardous chemicals, multiplying the health hazards.”

Bakeries—which are categorised as Green and Orange based on their production capacity—have to annually renew their licence with an NOC from the environment authorities. MPCB has warned that this will not be done unless the conversion to green energy is done in the stipulated period. “Apart from withholding the NOC, MPCB will initiate action to close the bakeries if there is non-compliance,” the notice said.

An MPCB officer said that the Delhi government had converted all tandoor bhattis in that city to electricity, and MMR would go the Delhi way though the rule would not be applicable outside MMR for now. Last month, environment minister Pankaja Munde announced that a plan would be chalked out to reduce Mumbai’s pollution, and regulating bakeries and restaurants operating tandoor bhattis would be part of it.

Nasir Ansari, president of the Bombay Bakers Association, said they were ready to switch to a clean fuel but required more time. “We need at least one year to switch over, as the conversion requires a minimum of ₹15 lakh per bakery,” he said. “The structural changes too will need time. We expect a subsidy from the government, as apart from the cost, our fuel cost too will more than double. We are moving the court with our demands for time and subsidy.”

The Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG) last year submitted a survey of 20 of the city’s 1,400-2,000 bakeries titled ‘Envisioning a Sustainable Bakery Industry for Mumbai’. The report states that the average wood consumption of a bakery stands at around 130 kg daily while the larger bakeries use 250 kg to 300 kg. It adds that wood-fired ovens emit harmful pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs); also, the ash generated is often disposed of in dumping grounds, contributing to air pollution.

Hema Ramani, former campaign director of BEAG said that 5% to 6% of the pollution in Mumbai came from bakeries and tandoor bhattis. “Although it is a small percentage, this is a sector we could reduce to a zero-pollution one with a little tweaking in operations,” she said. “Other activities like construction of roads, buildings, bridges and vehicular traffic cannot be stopped.”

Ramani termed the switchover “a win-win situation”, as wood fuel was also damaging to the health of the people working in bakeries. “The BMC and the government agencies will handhold bakers through this,” she said.

Saji Sheikh, owner of the Byculla-based Central Bakery, said he was dreading the costs that lay ahead. “A small electricity-run bhatti will cost ₹6 lakh,” he said. “The wood bhattis we have right now will have to be demolished or kept aside, which will take a lot of space. And the costs don’t stop there; bakeries that have switched to electricity report paying over a lakh for monthly fuel costs, whereas we currently pay ₹35,000 to ₹45,000 for wood. Ramadan is coming up; we will take a decision on what to do soon.”

With inputs from Sabah Virani