BMC guidelines for vehicles transporting debris from construction sites

Taking stock of the report on Friday, Municipal Commissioner and Administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal issued a slew of guidelines to mitigate the sources of air pollution in the city including instructions for vehicles transporting debris and waste material from the construction site, which have been identified as one of the contributors to burgeoning AQI levels.

Read Death By Breath Series – Mumbai holds its breath | Why construction dust is lethal | BMC’s rulebook gets a burial

In its guidelines for the vehicles transporting construction debris, the BMC has said that each vehicle must be covered properly with tarpaulin sheets and that none of the vehicles will be permitted to ferry more than the designated weight.

Chahal also said that MPCB and BMC shall depute experts to verify the level of pollution caused due to refineries, Tata Power Plant and RCF and check their installations for their pollution-control measures. The random samples shall be collected by the experts from these installations on regular basis and they shall be chemically analysed to ensure that no pollution is caused by these plants.

He also added that if any violations are observed, stringent action shall be initiated against the offenders.

Further, Chahal has called for mandatory cleaning of vehicles’ tyres and sprinkling of water before leaving the construction sites to ensure that traces of dust are removed before plying on the roads.

He also mentioned that CCTV cameras should be installed in every construction site in the city to ensure that trucks leaving the site with construction debris are properly covered. Chahal has also appealed to the state government’s transport department and has asked that any diesel vehicle whose age-limit has been passed, shouldn’t be allowed to enter the limits of the city.

“All the construction sites shall have CCTV network to ensure that all measures to be taken at construction sites are being implemented,” the BMC’s guidelines stated.

Pressing the formation of special squads to keep a watch on the transportation vehicles, Chahal has said that any vehicle which is found dumping debris on the roads and footpaths will be penalised heavily, adding that the vehicle’s registration will also be revoked.

On the question of non-compliance, the civic body’s string of guidelines warns of stringent action from the transport commissioner’s department against any vehicle transporting debris that does not adhere to the norms.

Released in March, the MAPMP identified dust arising from demolition and construction works as the key factors of air pollution. Seeking to nip the various polluting sources in the bud, the MAPMP had also chalked out a set of guidelines for different sources and prescribed a monitoring system to be followed by each stakeholder, failing to warn of ‘actions for non-compliance’.