BMC’s ultimatum to builders: Projects over Rs 1,000 crore must set up AQI monitoring on premises by end of next week

Instructions to builders

“In Mumbai, there are around 2,000 construction sites out of which around 1,200-1,300 involve big projects costing over Rs 1,000 crore. We have issued an ultimatum to each builder and contractor stating that every contractor whose project size is above or equal to Rs 1,000 crore must need to have an AQI monitoring system installed within their premises by the end of next week. If they fail to do so, stop-work notices will be issued and a penalty imposed,” Dhakane said.

In 2023, The Indian Express had launched a series ‘Death by breath’ highlighting the deteriorating AQI in Mumbai and how unaccounted man-made activities like construction and garbage burning was contributing to it. Following this, the BMC had launched the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP), which included a 28-point guideline. The civic authorities had also mandated the sprinkling of water and erecting metal sheets around the periphery of construction sites to avoid dust displacement.

Earlier this year, to track the plummeting air quality levels, the BMC officially stated that all construction sites will have to install sensors and record real-time AQI at the site. If the readings reach ‘unsafe’ or ‘poor’ levels, ongoing work should be either stopped or mitigation measures, like sprinkling of water, could be carried out. Under the MAPMP, the BMC had identified dust displacement from construction sites to be a primary contributing factor behind Mumbai’s plummeting air.

Dhakane said that around 650 such firms have installed AQI sensors within their premises. The data recorded in these sensors is being displayed on a screen outside the worksite, and the same is also broadcast to the BMC and recorded in a dashboard. Dhakane said that at present, the data is not made public but is analysed by the authorities only. Further, Dhakane said the BMC is also mulling a proposal to increase the penalty for violating AQI norms, which currently stands at Rs 10,000.

“Once we have the entire network ready, we may put them out for the public, but at present we are checking the readings of these stations and comparing them with our own readings to check if they are recording correct figures, since we will also have to ensure that there is no panic among the public,” he added.

Nozzles for spraying water; monitoring trucks

Further, Dhakane said all ward offices have been instructed to use nozzles to spray water on roads instead of using conventional pipes, because if the water pressure is not controlled, the dust may get displaced from the surface due to the force and will ultimately render the method futile. He added that civic sweepers have been instructed to clean the sides of roads thoroughly since a lot of dust gets accumulated there.

“In the long run, we will chalk out a mechanism where we can monitor trucks that will be carrying debris from construction sites. Often, these trucks don’t cover the carrier properly, due to which the dust gets displaced from them. Hence, it’s important to keep a track of these vehicles to make sure that they follow discipline,” Dhakane said.