Mumbai: Dust trail from Andheri construction site chokes Lokhandwala stretch

A puddle formed at the side of road after downpour (right) The mud-laden Best Colony Road. PICS/ESHANPRIYA MS

Despite regulations by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), mud-laden dumper trucks from a construction site in Milat Nagar, Lokhandwala, Andheri, are causing severe dust pollution along an 800-metre stretch of Best Colony Road. The debris affects over 10 residential towers and several shops.

The Lokhandwala Complex Environment Action Group first raised the issue with the BMC in September 2024, reporting that five to six trucks leave the site daily with wheels caked in wet soil. This soil is deposited along the road by the trucks. In dry months, it creates thick dust clouds; during the monsoon, the wet sludge spreads further through passing vehicles. In heavy rain, the soil gets washed off the carriageway and settles along the footpaths, creating dangerously slippery surfaces.

Rishi Agarwal, an environmentalist, local resident, and one of the founding members of the Lokhandwala Complex Environment Action Group, said, "It is unacceptable that on one hand, the BMC cleans roads using high-pressure water jets, and on the other, these trucks are making them muddy again. The issue is no longer limited to the public road. Along this stretch, vehicles turning into housing societies are carrying soil into their compounds. One housing society has even invested in an automatic cleaning machine to clean the approach road inside their premises."

When Agarwal first approached the BMC's K/West ward - under whose jurisdiction the area falls - in September 2024, officials clarified that the construction site had already been fined three times for polluting the road. "Authorities from the ward informed us that the construction site falls under the jurisdiction of the P/South ward. While the BMC has the authority to issue a stop-work notice, they said the matter lies with the P/South ward," Agarwal said.

A local shopkeeper, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "I've personally experienced several health issues due to the dust. I cough frequently, and my eyes often burn. We've even stopped displaying products outside because of the dust."

To reduce pollution from construction sites, the BMC mandates that trucks must wash their wheels before exiting. As part of a 27-point guideline released in 2023 to tackle worsening air quality, special teams were formed at the ward level to inspect construction sites. Bhagyashree Kapse, Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Zone 4, told mid-day, "Now that the issue has been brought to my notice, we will investigate. If necessary, a stop-work notice can be issued to the construction site."