Mumbai Air Pollution: Bullet Train, Metro Line 2B, New HC Site Among Polluters; Bombay High Court Calls For Issuance Of 'Stop-Work' Notices

After being informed that there were several major violations of the guidelines to prevent air pollution, by various construction sites in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, the Bombay High Court on Monday, orally asked the civic authorities to issue 'stop work notices' to all such violators, which include the construction sites of Bullet Train project, Metro 2B Line, proposed new High Court Building among others. The division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrasekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad were furnished with a report submitted by the four-member High Court appointed Committee, inspected several sites across Mumbai, which had a poor air quality specifically the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) area, Andheri, Vile Parle, Worli, Deonar etc.When the matter was called out, the bench sought to know from advocate Karan Bhosale, who was also the member of the Committee, as to how many violations (of the guidelines) were found, to which he responded, "Several violations."Hearing this, the Chief Justice orally remarked, "Now, you (civic authorities) please issue stop work notices to all the violators."The judges, further sought to know if there were any violations even at the site in Bandra where the new High Court building is proposed, to which an 'affirmative' response was given. At this, CJ Chandrashekhar remarked, "We think an impression should not go out that High Court can go scot-free."Further, during the hearing, Senior Advocate and Amicus Curiae Darius Khambatta read out some observations of the Committee pointing out that most of the constructions sites in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai have been flouting the guidelines, which are mandatory to be adhered to. He explained with examples how some sites having a near 10 acres of land under construction, have displayed only a single sensor device, reflecting the air quality of the area around the project site. Another example given was of sites with multiple floors, using a single sensor device installed only on the ground floor and that too in a corner. The senior advocate also cited examples of sensor devices being installed inside the construction site and not being displayed to the public, no centralisation of the data reflected in these sensor devices installed at constructions sites etc. Having heard the brief submissions, CJ Chandrashekhar summoned the Commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and also the Member Secretary, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to remain present in the courtroom on Tuesday (December 23) without fail."We have formed a prima facie opinion that the Municipal Commissioner, BMC and the Member Secretary of the MPCB should personally explain the inaction on the part of the concerned officers of these two authorities. Let them both remain present in the court tomorrow morning," the Chief Justice ordered. The bench was hearing a Suo Motu PIL, which was initiated in October 2023 after considering the rising levels of air pollution in the city of Mumbai and its nearby areas. In a previous hearing, a 4-member Committee was constituted by this very bench to inspect various sites in the city and Navi Mumbai to 'verify' the claims of the BMC and MPCB, which have maintained that they are taking all steps to bring down the pollution levels. In its inspection report as regards the BKC area, the Committee stated that it visited three major sites: Bullet Train project site, RMC Plant and Metro Line 2B project in the area on December 6."Across all three locations, the Committee observed a recurring pattern of incomplete or inconsistent compliance with the pollution control requirements laid down by BMC and MPCB. Even at large, high visibility infrastructure sites, several basic dust management and monitoring systems were either missing, not functioning, or recently installed in a manner that raised questions about routine use. At the Bullet Train project, the Committee found that the barricading height was far below the prescribed level, the AQI monitor had been installed only two days before inspection. CCTV footage from previous days showed trucks without covers, dusty roads, no sprinkling activity and debris that seemed to have been covered only shortly before the Committee's visit. Key areas such as tyre-washing zones were not under CCTV surveillance," the committee stated. The RMC plant showed the most serious non-compliance. Out of the 21 mandatory MPCB conditions for RMC operations, the site violated more than half, including uncovered silos, lack of dust control along the periphery, no tyre-washing system, no fogging or sprinkling, absence of CCTV cameras, no waste water treatment facility, and no proper disposal of solid waste from mixer washing. The AQI monitor could not produce any stored data, and staff were unsure whether it was an approved model, the report recorded. "At Metro Line 28, many checklist items did not apply due to the nature of work, but even the applicable ones showed non-compliance. The site lacked an AQI monitor, ...

Mumbai Air Pollution: Bullet Train, Metro Line 2B, New HC Site Among Polluters; Bombay High Court Calls For Issuance Of 'Stop-Work' Notices

Narsi Benwal

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