Air pollution in city | It has improved by almost 50% since New Year: Iqbal Singh Chahal

Mumbai’s municipal commissioner and state appointed administrator, Iqbal Singh Chahal said that the civic body has taken up remedial measures in war footing to tackle air pollution in Mumbai. “At the beginning of new year air pollution has improved by almost 50 per cent and in the interest of citizens, all necessary steps are being taken up to control pollution and air quality,” Chahal said.

After the end of the monsoon, several parts of the state including Mumbai recorded a heavy increase in pollution levels, following which Chahal issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for air pollution control, with stringent implementation.

“Measures taken at construction sites and the ongoing Deep Cleaning Drive have played a pivotal role in these extensive efforts taken by BMC to improve air quality,” the BMC’s statement read.

“Additional manpower was also being deployed to emphasise dust control. Dust accumulated on roads, footpaths and public places is being removed with brushes and then washed with water. Fogger, anti-smog and other machines are also being used. As a result, dust in the air has decreased drastically. Initially, 500 to 600 kilometres of roads were washed every alternate day, which now has been increased to 1,000 kilometres every day,” the BMC’s statement stated.

The BMC on October 25, 2023 had also mandated that all the government and private appointed contractors who are carrying out construction and infrastructure works should put up barricades around the periphery of their site to prevent dust displacement. Chahal said that the contractors that don’t adhere to these norms face stringent action from the civic authorities.