Mumbai reeling under bad air; BMC to take stringent measures
BMC) has warned that it would stop construction anywhere, may it be a private site or a government project, if dust and pollution control measures are not being taken, reported PTI.
Construction is going on at a whopping 6,000 sites in the city currently, an official release quoted municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal as saying.
The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the city was above 200 (poor) at several places in the city during the day, the Central Pollution Control Board data showed.
Chahal, who is acting as administrator of the civic body as its elections are pending, held a meeting with all stakeholders in view of the alarming air pollution levels in the city, the BMC release said.
“At all these places (where construction is going on) dust- and pollution-control measures should be implemented. Else, construction will be stopped, be it private or government work,” he warned.
Congress leader and former opposition leader in the BMC Ravi Raja said Mumbai's AQI was the worst among cities in the country on Thursday but the administration did not implement a single guideline of its own pollution mitigation plan.
“ The city faced the same problem last year too and then the BMC released the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan in March 2023. But it seems that not even one guideline was implemented," he said in a statement.
Thousands of people are suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and kids and elderly people are the worst sufferers, he said.
