Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani conducted a surprise inspection of construction sites in Byculla, Mazagon, and Mumbai Central areas on Wednesday. He also reviewed the ongoing work at the Metro 3 project in Mumbai Central. He clarified that construction activities will remain halted until air pollution levels in the entire Byculla area are brought under control. Meanwhile, the BMC has issued total 443 stop work notices to the private and public construction sites across the city since November 2024.
To address the worsening air pollution, the BMC has enforced aspects of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4) regulations in Mumbai. Construction sites in Byculla and Borivali East, numbered 33 and 45 respectively, have been shut down as part of the efforts to curb pollution. The day after these shutdowns, the Municipal Commissioner personally conducted a surprise inspection of both private and public infrastructure sites in Byculla to ensure compliance with the regulations and to monitor the effectiveness of the action plan.
Gagrani accompanied with assistant municipal commissioner (E ward) Suresh Sagar visited two private building construction projects in the Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk area, Metro 3 project in Mumbai Central, the slum rehabilitation project near Dongarbaba at Joseph Baptista Garden in Mazgaon, and the bakery located in the same vicinity. Besides this, he also reviewed the ‘Safar’ weather center, which has been established under the joint efforts of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (Pune), and the municipal corporation.
“It is mandatory for all construction projects to have fully operational air pollution monitoring and control systems in place. Permission to commence construction on specific projects will not be granted unless these systems are up and running,” stated Gagrani. He further emphasised, “Restrictions will remain in effect until air pollution is effectively managed across the entire Byculla area.”
The BMC had issued directives for all construction sites to adhere to a 28-point guideline aimed at reducing air pollution at their sites. Some of the key measures include ensuring that construction sites are fully enclosed with green cloth or jute on all sides to prevent dust dispersion. Additionally, the construction area must have a minimum 25-foot-high sheet metal or roofing cover to further contain dust and debris. Construction waste and debris must be promptly disposed of, and abandoned vehicles are strictly prohibited on the site. To minimize the impact of dust, the wheels of vehicles entering or exiting the site must be regularly cleaned, and developers are required to set up the necessary machinery to facilitate this cleaning process.
