Mumbai's Air Pollution Battle: High Court Forms Special Team Amid Crisis

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad tasked the team to visit a specific area of ​​Mumbai and submit a report by December 15 on whether air pollution control guidelines were being followed at construction sites.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Chandrashekhar said that improving Mumbai’s air quality may take some time. “Delhi has been struggling for 15 years,” he said, citing challenges faced by the authorities in the National Capital.

The High Court-appointed five-member team will include a BMC official, an employee from the Health Department and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and two members from civil society, whose names were suggested by lawyers present in court.

The bench was hearing petitions highlighting the worsening Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mumbai.

The court directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the MPCB to submit a report by December 15, detailing the actions taken in the previous year to control air pollution.

Advocate Darius Khambata, appointed by the court, stated that guidelines were in place and it was just a matter of authorities effectively enforcing them.

He emphasised that there are approximately 1,000 construction sites in Mumbai, and most of them do not comply with the guidelines. Furthermore, vehicle emissions were a major concern.

However, the bench said, "Pollution caused by vehicles can be easily dealt with, and everyone knows what happens on the road. We do not want to pass an order that will give them licences; they will start issuing challans, they will start seizing vehicles. Citizens should not be harassed by the order.”

Advocate Janak Dwarkadas, representing an NGO, said he goes for walks near the Chief Justice's residence and sees no rules being followed at three construction sites in Walkeshwar.

The bench said, “We feel a team should survey polluting areas.”

Milind Sathe, the lawyer representing the BMC, stated that the corporation has 94 special squads that inspect construction sites.

The bench directed that data on the work done by the squads over the past year be preserved so that anyone can inspect it if needed, and that details be provided regarding the installation of CCTV and sensor boards at construction sites.

The bench also directed that the Health Department should issue a health advisory before the onset of autumn as an awareness programme to protect people from air pollution.

The High Court also suggested that the government could provide free masks to people at railway stations and bus stops.

- IANS