The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) on Wednesday, January 7, ordered an immediate closure of 19 construction sites and issued notices to 42 others for violating environmental safety norms.
This crackdown was a part of intensified action to curb rising air pollution and city’s air quality index (AQI) breaching the 200-mark in several areas despite the enforcement of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4) in late November.
Clarifying further, officials said that the action follows inspections carried out by ward-level flying squads during December, which found several construction sites violating pollution control norms.
The construction work was stopped at 19 locations under GRAP-4 norms, where the AQI was recorded above 200.
During inspections, the civic body issued advisory notices to 32 construction sites, show-cause notices to 10 sites, and stop-work notices to 19 sites. Penalty notices have also been issued to 173 developers for non-compliance.
NMMC has urged citizens to rely only on the official SAMEER App and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) website for accurate air quality information.
The municipal commissioner Kailas Shinde stated that the civic body is strictly enforcing the 27-point air pollution control guidelines issued in 2024.
To ensure ground-level implementation, flying squads comprising assistant commissioners, civil engineers, and sanitation inspectors have been deployed across all wards.
As part of these measures, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been made mandatory at all construction sites, including the installation of air quality monitoring devices.
So far, 30 construction sites have installed such devices, while work is underway at the remaining locations.
In addition, NMMC has deployed mechanised brushes and NCAP vehicles, which spray treated water into the air to settle dust particles.
The civic body has intensified mechanical road sweeping, removal of accumulated dust along roads and footpaths to tackle airborne dust levels.
Moreover, soil accumulated along footpaths is being removed regularly, followed by deep cleaning of roads with recycled water.