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Journalism of Courage
The hearing of a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) on Monday over the worsening air quality in Mumbai was marked by an intense courtroom exchange between the lawyers representing the state government, civic authorities and petitioners, and judges of the Bombay High Court over the stringent measures proposed and the need for developmental projects in the city.
The bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya initially said that it proposed to put a complete ban on plying of vehicles carrying construction material and debris in and out of sites till Diwali. However, the state and civic authorities opposed it, claiming that it will hamper the infrastructure projects in the city.
Advocate General Birendra Saraf for the state government and senior advocate Milind Sathe vehemently reasoned that such a stringent direction would result in the project works, including those related to infrastructure projects of public importance coming to “standstill”.
Representing one of the petitioners, advocate claimed that it was an alarming situation having a conflict between “economic growth, development” and sustainability of environment and argued that stringent actions were required in view of “system failure”.
However, the court responded that “heavens are not going to fall if construction vehicles are stopped for a week”. Adding that construction material and debris are measures reasons for increasing air pollution, the court remarked, “Lives of Mumbaikars are important. There is a major cause of concern. There will be hundreds of trucks everyday with these dumpers, etc. They should be covered at the moment. Nothing can be more cascading than public health.”
“We are living on this earth. Dependence on nature we understand. We have created this situation, we have not led our life naturally… Nothing can be more cascading than public health,” the HC said.
Senior advocate Darius Kham-bata appointed as Amicus Curiae in the matter to assist the court suggested that till Friday, the bench can consider direction to allow plying of vehicles carrying construction material should be covered by the tarpaulin, which the bench accepted. However, it warned of complete ban in case of non-improvement of air quality till then.
Court’s 10 interim directions to authorities before Diwali
1 Time limit to burst firecrackers in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) between 7 pm and 10 pm till the Diwali festival.
2 Covered trucks for material to be taken to and from construction sites and no carrying of construction debris till Friday, November 10.
3 Strict implementation of air pollution mitigation plan announced by BMC in March, 2023. Assistant Municipal Commissioners of every ward to be personal liable and accountable in case of any lapse
4 Similar action plan be followed in rest of municipal corporations in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)
5 BMC and other municipal corporations should ensure metal sheets of sufficient height shall be constructed to ensure dust is suppressed and contained within project sites.
6 Municipal Corporations to ensure regular and continuous water sprinkling is done by project proponents/ agencies
7 Storage piles at construction sites to be properly covered and cleared as per state government guidelines
8 No burning of waste including municipal solid waste in open areas including dumping sites
9 Traffic department and transport officers to ensure emission norms are complied in accordance with the provisions of Motor Vehicle Act
10 Govt, civic bodies and educational institutes to create awareness on ill-effects of firecrackers
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