Concerned with Mumbai's deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI), the Bombay High Court (HC) on October 31 raised the matter. It took suo motu (on its own) and requested answers from the relevant authorities.
The Central and Maharashtra governments, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) were served with notices by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice (CJ) DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif S, asking them to file their reply.
The court was hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by three citizens of Mumbai - Amar Baban Tike, 50, Anand Jha, 44, and Sanjay Surve, 39. In the PIL they highlighted news reports and experts' views which suggest that the high level of air pollution is being caused by reckless construction activity and lack of sufficient green cover in Mumbai City which is adversely affecting Mumbai residents, especially children.
The Chief Justice said the air quality index is deteriorating like anything in all the parts of the city. Not a single spot in Mumbai has good air quality.
The bench is seeking information from the relevant authorities regarding the actions they have taken and the actions they were required to take in accordance with the laws currently in effect.
The Chief Justice said “We will pass a detailed order. We are also taking suo motu cognizance of the air quality in Mumbai city. What measures have been taken by these authorities. AQI is deteriorating everywhere, not even a single area is spared.”
The Bombay High Court will be hearing the case on November 6, 2023.
The PIL requests that the BMC and the state government take immediate action to reduce pollution in the city and increase green space by planting trees and other fast-growing plants in a variety of public areas.
Furthermore, the plea demands an investigation into the Garden and Trees Department's operations for the previous ten years as well as an independent auditor's examination of the department's financial records. It has also requested information on the funding that the Garden Department has received over the past ten years as well as the money that has been used to plant new trees during that same period.
On the other hand, keeping the poor AQI in mind, The BMC banned the burning of garbage in open spaces. Earlier Mumbai’s Guardian Minister Deepak Kesarkar said that the civic body had sent notices to 6000 construction sites. BMC asked them to install fogging machines and sprinklers.
Addressing a press conference on October 25, Keskar said that BMC is working on a plan for the segregation of waste. Soon the BMC will devise a plan for the segregation of waste - extraction of pollutants from the garbage - at its two landfills in Deonar and Kanjurmarg.
BMC has set up a new guideline to mitigate air pollution. BMC said that a complete ban will be imposed on open burning anywhere in the geographical area under BMC, especially garbage dumping grounds and possible sites of trash burning.
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