BMC to add 5 CAAQMS and 4 mobile vans

Mumbai: In a bid to address air pollution and improve air quality in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will soon add five more Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) and four air quality monitoring mobile vans.

The civic body currently has five CAAQMS and one mobile van. The CAAQMS were added last month at the following five locations – Govandi Hindi Municipal School Complex; Highway Suvidha Kendra on Eastern Express Highway in Ghatkopar; near the penguin hall in Byculla Zoo; Sewri Municipal School Complex; and BMC maternity home in Charkop, Kandivali.

“The five additional stations will help build a better network of air quality monitoring stations and will help us understand air quality and pollution patterns. We are in the process of floating the tender and if all goes well, the machines will be commissioned by April-May 2024,” said an official with BMC’s environment department.

The civic body has drawn up a tentative list of locations for the new monitoring stations subject to availability of land – they include Khar, Kanjurmarg, Borivali, Haji Ali, Parel and Siddhivinayak temple. “We will choose five spots from this tentative list,” said the official.

The four new mobile vans, on the other hand, will be deployed at hot spots and locations from which the civic body receives air pollution related complaints, said Minesh Pimpale, deputy municipal commissioner (environment).

In his budget speech in February, municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal had clarified that the BMC was not a regulatory body and had limited powers to control air pollution.

“The MPCB (Maharashtra Pollution Control Board) is the regulatory body, but we will be taking on a more active role in monitoring pollution levels,” Chahal had said.

Besides CAAQMS, BMC has five manual air quality monitoring stations, but these are currently non-functional due to lack of staff. On November 7, HT reported that the Air Quality Monitoring and Research Lab (AQMRL), which manages these manual stations, was functioning with five officials against its mandated strength of 42. Posts of scientists, chemists, lab assistants and other scientific staff at the lab were vacant.

Meanwhile, BMC officials said that plans are afoot to set up hundreds of sensor-based air quality monitoring stations across the city and make a grid to better understand pollution sources and patterns.

“We have roped in IIT Kanpur, which will study and submit a report for installing these sensor-based air quality monitoring stations,” stated Pimpale.

BOX: Stop work notices sent to 100 construction sites

The BMC has started sending stop-work notices to construction sites across the city that were in violation of air pollution mitigation guidelines issued on October 25.

“About 100 sites have been sent stop work notices for not complying with the guidelines. We are currently compiling the data and will soon have exact figures,” said Minesh Pimpale, deputy municipal commissioner (environment).

In the guidelines issued on October 25, the civic body had specified a 15-day timeline, following which it would start sending stop-work notices or seal sites that were in violation of the guidelines. The 15-day window expired on Friday.

Meanwhile, the BMC issued a press statement on Saturday saying burning garbage in the open was an offence under environmental laws and the Indian Penal Code. “The solid waste management department is issuing a clear warning that polluters will not be spared for burning waste in the open,” the statement read. It mentioned that all complaints regarding waste burning in the city can be shared with the ‘Chief Minister Clean Mumbai Helpline’ launched by the civic body. The number of the helpline is 8169681697.