Air quality in Mumbai has improved but not satisfactory, says HC; calls for a comprehensive plan
air quality index (AQI) in Mumbai has improved but continues to be moderate and not satisfactory, the Bombay High Court said on Monday, while asking the Maharashtra government to come up with a comprehensive plan to find a final solution to the issue. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice G S Kulkarni asked the government to take the issue seriously, as lakhs of people continue to suffer because of the air pollution in the city.
The court took note of a news report which stated that seven project sites — road concretisation at suburban Bandra and Khar, the bullet train site at BKC, Versova-Bandra sea link project, Mumbai Metro-III, Mumbai Coastal Road and the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link — were generating a lot of dust adding to the worsening air quality.
The court noted that large mounds of construction material and rubble are reportedly left open at these sites.
The bench directed the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to conduct a joint inspection at these seven sites and immediately take requisite steps, pass orders and ensure that all the norms are followed.
«We also direct that in case the stakeholders at these sites are found to be not following or deviating from the norms, legal action may be taken by the MCGM and MPCB,» the court said.
The court noted that the AQI in the city continues to be at moderate levels, which indicates that such air quality will continue to cause breathing problems for people with heart and lung ailments, children and older adults.
«The satisfactory level of AQI is 51 to 100.
