Mumbai Pollution Crackdown: SRA Issues Stop-Work Orders To 116 Sites

The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) on Friday ordered an immediate halt to construction work at 116 projects across Mumbai for violating mandatory dust-control and air pollution mitigation norms.

According to an NDTV report, the SRA issued stop-work orders against 116 construction and slum rehabilitation sites that failed to comply with the city's environmental and dust-suppression guidelines.

The action is part of a broader crackdown by Mumbai's civic and housing authorities, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), to curb deteriorating air quality and dust pollution caused by ongoing construction and demolition activities across the city.

Developers at the affected sites cannot resume work until they install the required pollution-control measures and obtain formal clearance from the authority. These measures include anti-smog fogging machines, metal perimeter sheets, green netting, dust-suppression water sprinklers, and proper cleaning of debris and adjoining roads.

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A total of 805 SRA projects are currently underway across Mumbai and are being monitored for compliance with pollution-control norms.

At a review meeting on October 27, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide warned developers and construction contractors against failing to implement dust-control measures at construction sites and on adjoining roads, signalling stricter enforcement of pollution mitigation regulations across the city.

Bhide directed officials to intensify dust-control measures at construction sites and surrounding roads. She also called for regular monitoring of air quality monitoring stations and sensors, with action against those found displaying inaccurate data or remaining non-functional.

Earlier, up to October 22, the civic body had issued 270 show-cause notices and 20 stop-work notices to construction sites for failing to comply with pollution mitigation guidelines, according to a Times of India report.

Mumbai woke up on Friday to a layer of smog that cut visibility across parts of the city, even as light rain arrived in several suburbs. The city's air quality has not improved despite the showers. According to the AQI website, Mumbai's live Air Quality Index stood at 163 at 8:11 am local time. The platform categorised air quality as "Poor".

The site tracks real-time PM2.5 and PM10 levels, the fine particulate pollutants most commonly used to gauge how clean or polluted the air is.

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