"Not Competing With Delhi": Opposition On Worsening Air Quality In Mumbai

Mumbai's air quality crisis triggered a sharp political attack on the ruling establishment on Friday, with the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) accusing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the state government of failing to act decisively even as pollution levels across the city continue to deteriorate.

Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad warned that the issue now concerns "the future of Mumbai", pointing out that AQI levels across the MMR have consistently remained between 150-200, while pockets like Deonar and Wadala have entered hazardous zones.

"We are not competing with Delhi for AQI. PM 2.5 and PM 10 are very high. The average life span of a Mumbaikar is coming down by five to seven years," she said, adding that children and senior citizens are especially vulnerable.

Gaikwad said the party will release its manifesto addressing this crisis on Saturday, and added that the Congress will write to Environment Minister Pankaja Munde and the BMC Commissioner pressing for immediate intervention.

Congress leader Sachin Sawant said the state government "cannot run away from its responsibility."

"The High Court taking up the matter itself proves the state has failed. BMC has admitted that its AQI monitoring sensors are inapt. Dumping grounds keep catching fire, and the government's partnership with builders is only worsening the problem," Sawant alleged.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said the government lacks a scientific approach.

"When we spoke about saving the lungs of the city, the Aarey forests, the BJP called us anti-development. They cut trees in Aarey, but can they show where they have grown them? We were only trying to maintain ecological balance," he said.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court has stepped in, expressing dissatisfaction over the contrasting claims made by the BMC, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and the amicus curiae regarding the city's pollution levels. On Friday, the court constituted a five-member committee to independently inspect two construction-heavy areas in Mumbai to assess whether sites are actually following BMC's pollution-control guidelines.

A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad said an independent verification was necessary:

"BMC and MPCB say they are monitoring everything, but there are allegations that pollution levels have still not come down. Let an independent team examine two specific areas and submit its report within 10 days," the bench said.