Shelar proposes weekly bar on construction to curb air pollution

Shelar also proposed a dedicated helpline and social media account for reporting incidents of waste burning, fires at dumping grounds and illegal dumping of construction debris

Mumbai: Mumbai suburban guardian minister Ashish Shelar on Monday urged Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Ashwini Bhide to bar all construction and demolition activities in the city for one day per week to curb rising air pollution. He also called for immediate and effective measures to tackle air pollution, which is likely to rise further during the winter.

Ashish Shelar (Hindustan Times)

In a letter addressed to Bhide, Shelar said that citizens had submitted several representations regarding rising air pollution in the city, while the Bombay High Court had also expressed concern over the deteriorating air quality index (AQI). The minister proposed a Mumbai-specific Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to ensure that predetermined measures are implemented promptly whenever air quality deteriorates. He also called for roads in pollution-prone areas and along major traffic corridors to be washed using treated wastewater, water sprinkling, and mechanised night-time road cleaning.

Shelar proposed a dedicated helpline and social media account for reporting incidents of waste burning, fires at dumping grounds and illegal dumping of construction debris. Complaints should be addressed promptly, offenders penalised and weekly action-taken reports made public, he said. Anti-smog guns and mist sprayers should also be deployed at highly polluted locations and major traffic junctions, he noted.

Shelar welcomed pollution control measures already undertaken by the BMC, including ward-level inspections, monitoring of 3,166 construction sites through the central air quality dashboard, a construction debris management system, use of clean fuels in bakeries and pollution control systems at crematoriums. He said that though PM10 levels in Mumbai had declined by approximately 48% since 2017-18, more comprehensive measures were needed to effectively control pollution.

Shelar called for the pending installation of sensor-based air-quality monitoring systems at construction sites to be completed urgently. He urged the conversion of the remaining 87 bakeries using wood or coal to cleaner fuels. He also proposed meetings in all 26 BMC wards involving citizen groups, elected representatives and concerned government departments to identify local problems and determine appropriate solutions.

A separate meeting with representatives of leading companies in the industrial sector should be organised to secure their cooperation, technical assistance and financial support for pollution-control initiatives, Shelar said in the letter.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner of the BMC, Avinash Kathe, welcomed the suggestions. Niranjan Hiranandani, president of developers’ body NAREDCO too welcomed the suggestions. “It is not just construction which leads to pollution, vehicles are also responsible. There must be one no-vehicle-day per week as well,” he said.

MCHI president Sukhraj Nahar said that all builders take steps at their site to control pollution.