Officials informed that vendors have so far installed 662 pollution sensor units, while 251 more installations remain in progress. The civic body reviewed the installation status and dashboard integration for each vendor, along with the active and inactive status of devices
The BMC warned that action would be taken against construction sites found violating pollution-monitoring norms. Representational Pic/File
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) held a review meeting on Thursday to assess the progress of sensor-based pollution monitoring systems at construction sites across the city.
The meeting, chaired by the additional municipal commissioner (city), included officials from the environment and climate change department, representatives from CEEW, the agency tasked with creating the centralised pollution dashboard, and 15 shortlisted vendors supplying the monitoring devices. The meeting was conducted in hybrid mode.
Officials informed that vendors have so far installed 662 pollution sensor units, while 251 more installations remain in progress. The civic body reviewed the installation status and dashboard integration for each vendor, along with the active and inactive status of devices.
CEEW reported that 400 pollution monitoring units have been integrated with the dashboard so far. Of these, 283 devices are currently active, while 117 remain inactive due to issues such as lack of electricity or Wi-Fi at sites, pending fabrication work, or non-receipt of technical data from project proponents.
The additional municipal commissioner directed that a list of all construction sites with inactive pollution indicators be shared with the environment and climate change department. The department has been instructed to conduct site visits, physically verify vendor submissions, and issue compliance notices as per the Bombay High Court orders.
The BMC also warned that action would be taken against construction sites found violating pollution-monitoring norms.
Do not blame volcanic ash from Ethiopia for Mumbai’s poor AQI: High court
The Bombay High Court (HC) on Thursday said authorities cannot attribute Mumbai’s deteriorating air quality to ash clouds from the volcanic eruption in Ethiopia, observing that the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) had been poor well before the incident, news agency PTI reported.
A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad was urged to begin hearing a group of petitions filed in 2023 regarding the city’s worsening air pollution.
Senior counsels Darius Khambata and Janak Dwarkadas, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the AQI in Mumbai has remained consistently poor and above 300 throughout this month, PTI reported.
Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan argued that air pollution levels had worsened due to the volcanic eruption in Ethiopia two days ago.
The court, however, rejected this explanation, noting that the city’s pollution levels had been alarming long before the eruption, reported PTI.
“Even before this eruption, if one stepped out, visibility was poor beyond 500 metres,” the bench observed.
Referring to Delhi, which is witnessing severe AQI levels, the bench asked what effective measures could be taken to tackle the issue.
“What can be the most effective measures? We are all seeing what is happening in Delhi. What is the effect of that?” the court questioned.
The matter has been posted for hearing on Friday.
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