The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday decided to implement certain aspects of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4) measures in Mumbai due to the deteriorating air quality over the past couple of weeks.
Municipal commissioner and state-appointed administrator Bhushan Gagrani announced that construction sites will be shut in areas where the air quality index (AQI) breaches 200, which is categorised as “poor”, till the air improves. Hence all construction works — private and public —have been suspended with immediate effect in Borivali East and Byculla, which have been consistently recording AQI of over 200 over the past few days, Gagrani said.
“In areas where the AQI surpasses 200, we will stop work at all construction sites under GRAP-4 norms. Once the AQI breaches 200, the rule will be implemented immediately without issuing any ‘stop-work’ notices to the developers. We will inspect the affected area for at least 2-3 days before resuming work. For now, we have immediately implemented the rule and suspended construction work in Borivali East and Byculla where the AQI has consistently been poor,” said Gagrani.
The municipal commissioner added that they were closely monitoring areas such as Worli and Navy Nagar, where the AQI is high but not surpassed 200 yet.
The BMC also said that no further permissions for conducting trenching works will be issued by the civic body until the AQI levels reflect improvement.
Amid several construction sites flouting the 28-point guidelines to control pollution, Gagrani said that the civic body will register police complaints and take strict action against those developers who continue work at sites despite being served with “stop-work” notices. According to top officials, action will be taken under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act’s (MRTP) Section 52.
So far, the BMC has issued “stop-work” notices to 286 developers for failing to adhere to the 28-point norms issued by the civic body in a bid to mitigate pollutants emerging from construction sites.
The implementation of the aspects of GRAP-4 measures have come at a time when the city has been consistently experiencing smog for a few days.
Even as the city’s overall AQI has hovered below 200, breaching it only once on Sunday, Mazgaon, Borivali, Malad and Navy Nagar have consistently logged ‘poor’ AQI readings, above 200 ug/m3.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, AQI readings of the range 0-50 are regarded as good, 51-100 is regarded satisfactory, 101-200 is regarded moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and above 400 is considered to be severe.
On Monday, Gagrani added that the GRAP-4 rules encompassing ban on temporary suspension of construction activities will be applicable uniformly across all types of construction sites, including government projects.
“In Borivali East and Byculla, we will give them 24 hours to bring down the pollution to safe levels before deciding the further course of action,” Gagrani told reporters. However, the civic body is yet to furnish details about the sites where work has been immediately suspended.
Responding to questions, he maintained that the measures under GRAP-2 and GRAP-3 will not be implemented.
According to Gagrani, at present, Mumbai has over 2,200 private construction sites with each ward housing an average of 50-60 private construction projects.
Addressing reporters, Gagrani said, “We are also witnessing large scale concretisation work in several pockets. While this can’t be stopped, a major concern of pollution is where roads are dug up. Until the air quality improves, we (BMC) have decided to stop issuing permissions for trenching works.”
In cities like Delhi, stage 4 of GRAP is invoked when the AQI deteriorates to the “severe” category of above 400, experts told The Indian Express, adding that the parameters for implementing the measures are different for different cities.
Dr Tuhin Banerji, scientist and member of Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG), said that Mumbai needs a more planned implementation of the GRAP. “Strict rules for construction sites is the least the administration can do… What Mumbai needs is a more planned implementation of GRAP with more holistic measures, including stopping commercial vehicles such as trucks and dumpers from entering the city during rush hours, controlling emissions from thermal power plants, regulating open eateries, etc. The authorities also need to define the criteria of GRAP 1, 2, 3 and 4 for the city,” said Banerji.
As per the instructions from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the civic body has also taken up the cudgels to convert 356 wood/coal based bakeries to be converted into clean-fuel based bakeries within a period of one year. Legal action, authorities said, have already been initiated against 77 polluting bakeries. The BMC is also looking at converting 225 crematoriums into using cleaner fuels.
A view of Worli’s skyline, completely covered with smog, is seen from Mahim. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee) 
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