MPCB Focuses on MMR to Curb Pollution Affecting Mumbai’s Air Quality | File Photo
Mumbai: Mahatashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is working to decrease pollution entering Mumbai from nearby areas, said the government authority’s Mumbai incharge regional officer Ravi Andhale.
The official was speaking at a public meeting organised by People’s Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL) Maharashtra on Friday at the Student Branch of Young Men’s Christian Association located at Lamingtom Road in Grant Road (E). The public meeting was attended by academicians, doctors, social sector professionals and others.
Speaking at the meeting, MPCB official said that the government body is focusing on reducing pollutants in Navi Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Turbhe and Taloja to decrease the effect of air pollution in Mumbai.
“Just like we look at watershed area to understand the places which are the major source of water inflow, we are now finding air-shed areas which are the major source of air pollution around the city. These are the places where resuspension of dust is the major issue,” Andhale said.
Speaking about the magnitude of pollutants raising from transboundary emissions, Professor Chandra Venkataraman, founding convent of Climate Studies at IIT-Bombay, said that around 50% of PM2.5 pollutants in Mumbai come from transboundary emissions.
She said, “There is an urgent need to expand our focus beyond city level as 70% of the pollutants are emitted outside the cities. We have to focus on the cities but also the rest of the state to effectively mitigate the pollution.”
Prasad Khale, senior conservation officer at Conservation Action Trust, raised concerns regarding insufficient AQI monitoring in Mumbai, citing that the city needs to have 90 monitoring systems each covering a radius of 4km.
“We need to assure compliance to mitigation measures needed to curb air pollution. When industries are given approvals, there are multiple conditions laid but the problem is they are not complied with.”
Dr. Priti Meshram, head of pulmonary medicine at JJ Hospital reflected upon the increase in patients suffering from respiratory ailments due to air pollution.
“The patients who earlier used to see me every three or four months are now coming to the outpatient department every fifteen days. The only reason seen is the increase in air pollution in the last three months,” she said.
