Mumbai Air Pollution: Citizens meet BMC Additional Commissioner As Concerns Grow

Actor, mother, and environmentalist Dia Mirza, along with a group of concerned citizens, met and submitted suggestions to the Additional Municipal Commissioner (West) of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Sanjeev Kumar IAS, on Monday, regarding the issue of air pollution in the city. The issues discussed ranged from construction and demolition waste, solid waste management, and the need for an institutional framework for tackling air pollution at the ground level in Mumbai.

Accompanied by Sumaira Abdulali, Convener, Awaaz Foundation, Hema Ramani, Campaigns Director, Bombay Environment Action Group (BEAG) as well as Shruti Panchal and Rasika Nachankar from Waatavaran Foundation, Dia emphasised the need for a 10-year action plan apart from short term measures to curb severe health risks posed by Mumbai's high levels of air pollution. As a citizen of Mumbai, the mother of a growing child and the daughter of an ageing parent, she shared her concerns about air pollution and said, "Clean air is a basic human right and timely collective action is needed to protect it."

The following ideas were proposed at the meeting by Dia and the members of Clean Air Mumbai - a network of citizens and civil society groups:

1. A 10 year action plan for improving the city's air quality apart from measures such as reducing vehicle emissions, promoting public transportation, and encouraging the use of clean energy sources. Collaboration was suggested between different stakeholders, including urban local bodies (ULBs), research bodies such as the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), civil society organisations and builder's associations among others.
2. Establishment of public health advisories at the ward level especially for children and elderly as highlighted by the BMC in its budget.
3. BMC driven awareness campaigns that can create awareness with the help of citizens’ groups about air pollution, tree cutting, waste management, noise pollution etc.
4. A bottom-up approach to mobilise citizens to synergically address the issue of air pollution.

Dia added, “The negative effects of air pollution on public health are clearly visible and this remains one of the city's biggest environmental problems and is to blame for increasing respiratory illnesses and heart conditions. Reports have established that air pollution stunts children's brain development, and even causes cancer. The amount of particulate matter (PM) in the air is at an all-time high, and other pollutants continue to vitiate the air we, our senior citizens and children are breathing."

Sumaira Abdulali, Convener, Awaaz Foundation added, "The importance of civil society inputs, awareness and education alongside strict enforcement cannot be overstressed. Ward wise committees, enforcement of c&d rules and enforcement of environmental standards during building along with citizen friendly complaint mechanisms are the need of the hour."

Hema Ramani, Campaigns Director, BEAG said, “The BMC was very receptive to our suggestions regarding the necessity of capacity building of administration along with creating awareness and sensitising the citizens.”

The citizens accompanying Mirza are members of Clean Air Mumbai - a network of citizens and civil society groups working towards the common goal of cleaning up Mumbai’s air. They are hopeful that their call to action will result in meaningful steps to improve air quality in the city.

Dia concluded, "The meeting culminated on a note of broad acceptance that a long term, sustained effort is needed to reduce Mumbai's air pollution. We are hopeful that the citizenry and BMC can come together to create a road map for a cleaner and healthier Mumbai. We citizens are grateful to the BMC for their time and attention to this critical situation, and pledge to work in support alongside them to ensure long term solutions are implemented and stringent actions are taken in the short term by holding construction sites accountable."