HC slams BMC, MPCB for inaction to curb pollution

The Bombay high court on Tuesday pulled up the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) for failing to comply with earlier court orders issued to prevent air pollution caused due to construction, industrial waste, and garbage burning.

- Karuna Nidhi

MUMBAI:

The court granted six weeks to install pollution monitoring devices at construction sites across the city and ordered them to submit a compliance report by June 12.

The court had taken up the matter suo moto (on its own) in 2023 after noticing the rapid deterioration of air quality in Mumbai. It noted news reports stating that air quality in Mumbai consistently hovered between poor and very poor, with the city ranked seventh in the list of the most polluted cities globally. The news reports also highlighted a 30% rise in the number of children with respiratory distress and that particulate matter (PM) in the city was more than double the national standards.