Work at bullet train site in BKC halts, air pollution violations flagged

The bullet train, India’s first high-speed rail corridor, is being built by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), a joint venture between the Union railway ministry and the governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra

MUMBAI: Work on the bullet train terminus at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) has ground to a halt due to blatant breaches of air pollution norms, currently a major concern in Mumbai.

The stop-work notice was issued by the BMC to contractors at the construction site on Wednesday. (Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

However, the action appears reactive rather than proactive, coming as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) faces mounting criticism from the Bombay High Court for lapses in monitoring air pollution. One of the primary contributors to the city’s deteriorating air quality is particulate matter generated by construction activity, something the BMC itself has acknowledged.

Against this backdrop, the court remarked on Wednesday, “The BMC is not working at all. There is no monitoring. It has turned a blind eye to the issue.”

The bullet train, India’s first high-speed rail corridor, is being built by the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), a joint venture between the Union railway ministry and the governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The stop-work notice was issued by the BMC to contractors at the construction site on Wednesday, even as the court told the civic administration that stopping construction work was not the solution; constant and surprise monitoring with coordinated reporting from ground was. The court was hearing a PIL on unchecked air pollution in Mumbai.

This is the second notice issued to the bullet train contractors. However, a senior civic official told HT, this time, work will not resume unless air pollution mitigation norms are complied with. While certain preparatory activities may continue, all digging and earth-moving work has been halted, he clarified.

The violations

The stop-work notice was issued after the BMC visited the bullet train site on Wednesday. This follows an inspection by a high court-appointed committee, which flagged serious lapses at the site.

The height of the barricades was well below the prescribed level, while the AQI monitor had been installed only two days before the inspection, the committee found.

“CCTV footage from previous days showed trucks operating without covers, dusty internal roads, no water sprinkling activity and debris that appeared to have been covered only shortly before the committee’s visit,” reads an excerpt from the committee’s report.

The committee also noted that key areas such as tyre-washing zones were not under CCTV surveillance.

Hindustan Times had also visited the bullet train site at BKC on December 11 as part of its investigation into construction sites where air pollution norms were being violated, unchecked. Several lapses were found even though a show-cause notice had been issued to the contractor on December 2.

Inadequate scaffolding was observed along one stretch, while tin sheets without green mesh were seen along another stretch. No AQI display boards were visible at the site, and construction debris had been dumped along the banks of an adjoining canal. A thick layer of dust was seen settled across the surrounding area.

During the visit, a worker at the site confirmed that water sprinklers were not operating at the time.

Follow up, says HC

The December 2 show cause notice was issued after civic inspection squads found the bullet train site to be non-compliant with air pollution mitigation guidelines. The notice had directed the implementation of corrective measures.

During the follow-up inspection this week, civic officials found that the measures were either only partially implemented or not in line with the prescribed norms. “That’s why stricter action has been taken,” an official said.

The BMC’s move must be seen in the context of the court’s remarks calling for strict enforcement of dust-mitigation measures, particularly at large infrastructure projects – measures that must be consistently implemented.