Mumbai's citizens and civic authorities are breathing a sigh of relief as air quality levels in the city have shown a noticeable drop. This positive trend comes amidst ongoing efforts by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to implement stringent measures for pollution control. However, data reveals a significant challenge in the administration's monitoring capabilities, particularly at the city's numerous construction sites.
Slow Progress on Pollution Monitoring Network
Despite the push for better oversight, the civic body is facing difficulties in making its network of Air Quality monitors fully operational and integrated. Out of approximately 2,000 active construction sites across Mumbai, the installation of mandatory pollution sensors has been completed at only 773 sites, which is just 39% of the total. The integration of these devices with the BMC's central command dashboard presents another layer of complication.
From the 773 sites with installed sensors, devices at 406 locations have been linked to the central dashboard. However, the real-time data flow is hampered because only 309 of these integrated devices are currently active, leaving 97 devices integrated but inactive. This gap limits the BMC's ability to get a comprehensive, live picture of particulate matter emissions from one of the city's major pollution sources.
Administration's Response and Enforcement Actions
Deputy Municipal Commissioner Avinash Kate, who heads the civic environment department, acknowledged the situation. He stated that the administration is "constantly taking updates and the data keeps changing." He assured that once integration is complete or a device becomes active, the information reflects on the central dashboard immediately. Kate emphasized the seriousness with which the issue is being viewed, highlighting ongoing positive interventions.
These interventions include enhanced road cleaning and the issuance of stop-work notices to construction sites that fail to comply with air pollution guidelines. Enforcement action has already begun. Last week, the BMC's H East ward served a stop-work notice to the bullet train construction site at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) for not meeting the civic body's air pollution control standards.
In the G South ward, officials have recommended that the Mumbai Coastal Road project department take proactive steps to curb dust from vast, undeveloped open spaces. G South Assistant Municipal Commissioner Swapnaja Kshirsagar confirmed, "We have suggested sprinkling of water, and using mist guns along the area and also AQI monitors to be placed along the site."
Graded Action Plan Awaits Trigger
While these site-specific actions are underway, BMC officials have clarified that the full suite of measures under the Graded Action Plan (GRAP) is not currently in effect in Mumbai. The GRAP protocol would be activated only if the city-level Air Quality Index (AQI) consistently remains above 200 for three consecutive days. The current improvement in air quality has deferred the need for this escalated response, but the mechanism is ready to be deployed if conditions deteriorate.
The situation underscores a dual reality for Mumbai: while there is temporary relief and active enforcement against violators, building a robust, city-wide infrastructure for real-time pollution monitoring at construction sites remains a work in progress. The civic administration's next steps in activating the remaining sensors and ensuring complete dashboard integration will be crucial for long-term, data-driven air quality management.
