BMC fines contractor Rs 20K per day after mid-day reports machine blowing dust into city’s polluted air; the contractor is responsible for daily cleaning of the highway’s main and service roads using mechanical brooming
Smoke belches from a litter-picker machine on a service road along the Eastern Express Highway in Vikhroli East on November 27. PIC/Chinmay Joshi
Taking serious note of mid-day’s report on a vehicle-mounted litter-picking machine releasing dust and worsening pollution on the Eastern Express Highway, the BMC has issued a notice to the contractor and imposed a Rs 20,000 fine.
Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner of the Solid Waste Management Department, said, “We have issued a notice to contractor Sumit Facilities Ltd, directing them to immediately explain why the litter-picker machine was releasing dust into the air while cleaning the main and service roads of the Eastern Express Highway in S ward. A penalty of Rs 20,000 per day has been imposed for two days under Clause 8 of the contract, which specifies fines for lapses and defaults. Further action will be taken under BMC’s air pollution rules if such violations continue.”
The contractor is responsible for daily cleaning of the highway’s main and service roads using mechanical brooming. They are expected to deploy machines suitable for dust-controlled cleaning. On November 29, mid-day published a report, after a reader from the eastern suburbs shared photographs of a litter-picker machine emitting smoke and kicking up dust on the EEH near Vikhroli. The report highlighted concerns that the machines meant to clean roads may be adding to pollution instead of reducing it.
Mumbai’s declining air quality continues to be driven by multiple sources, including construction and infra work across the city. mid-day recently documented complaints from Juhu and Santacruz residents who reported a layer of white dust coating roads and trees due to ongoing construction in the neighbourhood. Residents also noted the absence of AQI meters near work zones.
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