The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday banned open-air burning of trash or any other material across Mumbai in view of the rising air pollution in the city.
The Mumbai civic body issued Guidelines for Air Pollution Mitigation, signed by municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, as the air quality index (AQI) worsened to ‘poor’ category on several days in India's financial capital.
“There shall be a complete ban on open burning anywhere in the geographical area under BMC, especially at garbage dumping grounds and possible sites of trash burning,” an official release said.
According to an Indian Express report, BMC sent notices to 6,000 construction sites for causing pollution and asked them to install fogging machines and sprinklers.
The civic body held a joint meeting last week with all concerned authorities where Chahal had decided to announce the pollution mitigation guidelines.
Here are the other key guidelines:
1. Builders in the city must engage only the vehicles fitted with a tracking system for the transportation of construction materials. CCTV cameras must be installed along the periphery of all construction sites “to ensure that vehicles are plying after cleaning tyres and not overloaded”.
2. All projects – under-construction and “under-demolition” buildings – with a more than 70-metre height shall have at least a 35-feet high wall of tin sheets around the site and be covered by green cloth, jute sheets or tarpaulin from all sides.
3. “There shall be continuous sprinkling/spraying of water during the process of demolishing a structure,” a guideline read. Water fogging should be done during loading and unloading of materials at construction sites. Works like grinding, cutting, drilling, sawing and trimming should be carried out in enclosed areas with continuous water sprinkling or fogging
4. All vehicles carrying construction materials shall be fully covered and not overloaded to avoid any spillage on the road.
5. Sensor-based air pollution monitors shall be deployed at work sites. Action should be taken immediately when pollution levels exceed prescribed limits.
6. Around all BMC worksites like under-construction bridges and flyovers and above-ground metro works, the erection of 25-foot walls shall be mandatory.
7. Ward officers shall deploy squads comprising two engineers, a policeman and a marshal for air pollution mitigation enforcement, the BMC said, adding that they shall videograph the work site.
The civic body has given 15 days and 30 days for the installation of sprinklers and fog guns and implement other guidelines at construction and other work sites.
