BMC constitutes 7-member committee to control Mumbai's air pollution

In a bid to control dust in the air, the main factor contributing to air pollution, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner on Sunday constituted a seven-member committee and directed it to submit a report within a week.

The decisions have come in the wake of G20 meetings, scheduled to be held in Mumbai at the end of March 2023.

Strict measures to curb the city's air pollution will be implemented on the basis of the committee's report. The committee will be headed by Additional Municipal Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar.

"Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal held an urgent review meeting today through video-conferencing, in the wake of the need to control air pollution, preparations for the G20 meeting scheduled to be held in Mumbai at the end of March 2023 and the progress of the Mumbai Beautification project, wherein he gave various instructions," BMC said in a press statement.

"The air quality in the Mumbai region including the City of Mumbai is currently bad due to changes in the wind speed conditions combined with dust arising from various development and construction works, which are going on a large scale. In view of this, dust is the main factor responsible for air pollution. To control it, a committee comprising seven members has been constituted under the chairmanship of Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr Sanjeev Kumar. The committee shall submit its report within seven days and on the basis of that, from April 1, 2023, strict implementation of these measures will be initiated in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation area. Stringent action including stopping construction work will be taken against the violators," the statement added.

The seven-member committee is comprised of Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr Sanjeev Kumar (Chairman), Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Environment), Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Infrastructure), Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Solid Waste Management), Chief Engineer (Development Planning), Executive Engineer Satish Gite as a representative from Municipal Commissioner's office and a member nominated by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board.

Based on the report of this committee, the final Standard Operating Procedure, for dust control in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation area, will be finalised and implemented from April 1, 2023. The Municipal Commissioner has also stated that in case of violation of this procedure or any rule, the concerned will be issued stop work notice and other stringent action will also be taken.

The meeting was attended by all Additional Municipal Commissioners, all concerned Joint Municipal Commissioners/Deputy Municipal Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and Heads of Departments.