Squads at ward level, ban on garbage burning: BMC steps in to check air pollution

Taking note of The Indian Express report published on Wednesday, highlighting the BMC’s inaction on garbage burning — which is one of the top five sources of air pollution in the megapolis — the civic body issued a complete ban on open burning garbage anywhere within BMC jurisdiction.

The BMC also instructed the ward officers to deploy a squad — spearheaded by a senior ward official and comprising two ward level engineers, one policeman, one marshal and a vehicle — to ensure enforcement of guidelines and prevent illegal dumping of debris from sites of construction and demolition late in the night. While the larger wards of the city are slated to comprise six squads each, middle sized and small wards will have four and two squads respectively.

“The enforcement squad shall visit the premises and videograph the worksite. If it is found that the site is not adhering to mitigation provisions, stringent action such as issue of ‘Stop Work’ notice and/or sealing of the site shall be taken immediately,” stated the guidelines.

Responding to questions from The Indian Express, municipal commissioner and state-appointed administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal said that the teams will be deployed with immediate effect. However, real estate agencies have been given a period of 15 days to make logistical arrangements.

Seeking to curb the pollution from construction sites, which the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP) has identified as one of the key contributors to the burgeoning AQI levels in the city, Chahal announced a slew of guidelines, including water-fogging during loading and unloading of material at construction sites.

To prevent generation of air borne particulate matter, Chahal has directed water-sprinkling on debris from the sites. Among the set of instructions issued for construction sites, the BMC has also asked for the deployment of sensor-based air pollution monitors at work sites.

The civic body has given contractors and project proponents 15 days to procure water sprinklers and 30 days to procudre smog guns.

Chahal directed that any construction project that sprawls over one acre and beyond the height of 70 metres must erect 35-foot high tin or metal sheets while sites spanning within one acre must install sheets of at least 25 feet high. For the BMC worksites as well as sites of ongoing Metro works, barricades of 25 feet height have been mandated.

To prevent displacement of dust, the commissioner has also directed covering of construction and demolition sites with green cloth or jute sheets, besides the usage of smog guns and water sprinklers.

The BMC stated, “The mitigation measures suggested must be mandatorily observed by other agencies such as SRA, MHADA, MIDC, MSRDC, MMRDA, BPR, Airport Authority of India, Railways, government or semi government authorities and private construction sites.”

In its guidelines for vehicles ferrying construction debris, Chahal said that each vehicle must be covered properly and must not be overloaded to avoid spillage of debris. Chahal also called for the mandatory cleaning of the tyres of the vehicles and sprinkling of water before exiting the construction sites to ensure that traces of dust are removed before plying on the roads.

He also instructed 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. In case of violation of the norms, the BMC has warned of seizure of the vehicles as well as stringent action from the transport commissioner.