As construction and redevelopment activity accelerates across Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has stepped up action against projects failing to follow mandatory dust-control regulations. In the city’s largest administrative zone, P North Ward covering Malad, civic officials have issued 149 stop-work notices to construction sites found violating pollution control norms.
Information obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Vinod Gholap, president of the Fight for Right Foundation, highlights the extent of non-compliance at redevelopment sites. The data has raised concerns about how effectively construction-related pollution is being managed in a city experiencing a major redevelopment surge. Activists have also pointed out that enforcement remains inconsistent across different government agencies.
According to inspection data, a total of 224 construction sites were examined in the ward. Of these, 149 projects received stop-work notices for failing to follow dust mitigation rules, while 44 projects later rectified violations after enforcement action.
Environmental activist Sayyed Waseem said the key issue is ensuring accountability across multiple agencies and contractors involved in the city’s development works. “Until responsibility is clearly fixed on contractors, departments and officials, and strict punitive action becomes mandatory, these violations will continue,” he said.
BMC regulations require construction sites to adopt several measures to control dust pollution. These include installing MS sheet barricades around project sites, placing green safety nets on high-rise structures, conducting regular water sprinkling to suppress dust, and ensuring debris and construction materials are stored in covered areas. Developers must also provide wheel-washing facilities for trucks, install BMC-approved air quality monitoring sensors, and carry out high-dust activities in enclosed zones.
Failure to comply with these rules results in immediate stop-work notices from the civic authority.
However, activists say enforcement remains complicated because BMC does not have direct punitive powers over projects executed by agencies such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), and MHADA. In such cases, notices are forwarded to the respective authorities, often leading to delays in action.
Data also shows that private redevelopment projects accounted for the majority of violations, with 107 notices issued. Other notices were served to SRA projects (26), MMRDA projects (3), MHADA projects (5), one BMC project, and seven ready-mix concrete plants.
Experts say the fragmented regulatory structure continues to pose challenges in controlling construction-related pollution across Mumbai.
Source: Mid-day
