Shelar urges BMC to halt construction one day a week to curb Mumbai air pollution

Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar has made a demand to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to curb rising air pollution in Mumbai. He has suggested that construction and demolition work in the city be stopped for one day every week.

Shelar has sent a letter in this regard to Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide. In the letter, he said that changing weather conditions could worsen air quality further, so urgent steps should be taken before winter begins.

Shelar is Maharashtra's Cultural Affairs Minister and the Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburban district. He said that, given growing concern among citizens and in the Bombay High Court over the steady decline in Mumbai's air quality, the BMC should strengthen its pollution control measures.

His proposal is not limited to a construction halt. It also includes a separate Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Mumbai, strict action against polluting vehicles, better road cleaning, closer monitoring of air quality and greater public participation in pollution control efforts.

Shelar has asked the BMC to prepare a separate GRAP for Mumbai, with pre-determined measures that can be put into effect as soon as air quality deteriorates. The aim of the proposed framework is to create a structured response so that officials can act in time as pollution levels rise, rather than relying only on routine control measures.

He also stressed that the municipal corporations and other civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) need to coordinate in order to tackle pollution originating outside the city's administrative limits.

Construction and demolition have been identified as a key sector needing strict regulation. To reduce dust emissions, Shelar proposed that such work be halted for one day a week in the BMC area. He also suggested that dust control measures at construction sites be increased and that the pending sensor-based air quality monitoring system be installed to improve compliance and oversight.

The minister took note of the BMC's current initiatives. These include inspections by ward-level squads and monitoring of 3,166 construction sites through the central air quality dashboard. He welcomed measures such as construction debris management, the use of clean fuel in bakeries and the installation of pollution control systems at crematoriums. Even so, Shelar said, a more comprehensive approach is needed to keep improving air quality.

Shelar also said stricter action should be taken against vehicles that emit excessive smoke. He advised that Mumbai Traffic Police and the Regional Transport Office (RTO) act jointly and check Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates more frequently.

Under his proposal, heavy vehicles without a valid PUC certificate should be stopped from entering or plying in the BMC area. He asserted that vehicle emissions should also be controlled in coordination across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, so that pollution control efforts are not confined to the municipal limits.