In Chembur, a disaster waiting to happen

While pollution in the suburb has been talked about for ages, the MPCB or Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have not made matters easier. “BMC is an agency for making civic life better. Here it ensures health hazards. Quite often it also misguides the high court by producing a few green saplings before the judge. I think they are waiting for a disaster to happen. Simple gas leaks or ammonia discharge does not shake them,” says Chembur resident and cardiologist, Dr Sandeep Rane, with more than a touch of sarcasm. He has been at the forefront of Chembur citizen’s initiative against pollution, as part of the Smoke-Affected Residents’ Forum. The group has filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court against the unscientific garbage disposal at the Deonar dumping ground. “The scrap dealers have made big business in the dumping ground. Garbage is deliberately burnt so that metal could be extracted the next day. The recent BMC strike proved a boon for the business. It was only after we threatenedto file a contempt notice against the BMC that water tankers were ordered to douse the fires,” recalls Dr Rane.

The SARF has fought a long battle against the municipal corporation with regard to the dumping ground. The affidavit filed by the BMC in 1996 ensured short and long-term measures to be undertaken to fight pollution caused by the garbage ground. However, most of these measures remain on paper. For instance, it is promised that round-the-clock abundant water supply will be given to douse the fires in the dumping ground. A compound wall for the dumping plot was ensured. It was said that consultants will be appointed to supervise scientific landfilling activity. However, none of the promises have been fulfilled, thanks to lack of financial outlay.

While none of the residents expect or anticipate relocation of refineries or factories, they feel the high-risk units should at least be asked to prepare a disaster-management plan. “Each of them will have a plan on paper. But they should be told to hold mock emergency situations to test the effectiveness of the system,” suggests a resident of the R C Chemburkar Marg, one of the most congested localities.

Residents, even in the most polluted localities like Sindhi colony, Chembur Naka, RCF colony, seem to be quite resigned to the pollution factor. For instance, 50-year-old Neelan Patil living in the Shell colony suffers from respiratory irritation due to the polluted air. Her husband, who has been staying there for over 20 years, suffers from even more acute symptoms. But little can be done about it. “In a city like Mumbai, we cannot change a house due to pollution. We have to put up with it. The worse fact is that our grandson is also suffering along with us. He puts on weight only after he is taken to our village,” says the senior citizen. Interestingly, despite the high pollution levels, the real estate value in Chembur is not as depressed as one would have expected. And to make matters worse, the builders have even violated the stipulated FSI (0.7) by constructing on an FSI of one.

A younger Chembur resident, Santosh Pachlag, has a different story to tell. He says the pollution caused by unauthorised slums like Thakkar Bappa Colony, or by waste flowing from the Kurla milk dairy is worse than vehicular pollution. “The smell of spoilt milk can be killing,” he adds. “The unskilled, uneducated labourers in the Thakkar Bappa locality throw waste leather in garbage without any treatment. This can cause tuberculosis, but the authorities do not have time for looking into it,” he laments. Associated with BJP’s Yuva Morcha, Pachlag says the residents have no other alternative but to come together and mitigate the problem. The Yuva Morcha in Chembur has taken up `cleanliness’ as the theme for this year’s social work.