December 19, 2025: As Mumbai continues to battle worsening air quality, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued a fresh show-cause notice to J Kumar Infraprojects for allegedly flouting air pollution mitigation norms at the Metro Line 2B construction site in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). This is the third notice served on the contractor in the past three years, including a stop-work order issued in 2023, according to records accessed by The Indian Express.
The notice, dated December 11, 2025, pertains to violations observed at the Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) plant operated by J Kumar Infraprojects for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA)-managed metro project. Following an inspection by the BMC’s H (East) ward air pollution mitigation squad on December 4, officials found non-compliance on 18 of the 20 applicable parameters under the civic body’s 28-point construction pollution control guidelines issued in October 2023.
Violations cited include the absence of metal or tin sheets, lack of air quality monitoring records, and missing valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates for vehicles operating at the site. While an inspection report was initially issued asking the contractor to rectify the lapses, follow-up visits revealed continued non-compliance, prompting the show-cause notice.
“Such non-compliance amounts to a violation of the prescribed Air Pollution Mitigation Guidelines and poses a serious threat to environmental safety and public health,” the BMC stated, warning that a stop-work notice could follow if a satisfactory explanation is not provided.
BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Avinash Dhakne adopted a tough stance, saying, “Nobody will be spared, whether it is a government or private agency. We have issued strict instructions that whoever is polluting should be booked.”
Emails sent to J Kumar Infraprojects did not receive a response. Meanwhile, a senior MMRDA official defended the project, stating, “Our records show that PM 2.5 and PM 10 limits at the project site are satisfactory and within the stipulated norms… most of the pollution is being contributed to by private development projects.”
The notice comes amid sustained poor air quality in BKC, where MPCB data shows consistently ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ AQI levels since early November, with the worst reading of 232 recorded on December 4.
Source: The Indian Express
