BMC’s lab to track air quality has staff of 5 of 42

Mumbai: As Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is combating air pollution across the city and suburbs, few are aware that a dedicated department set up in 1976 for the purpose is nearly defunct, with a only a shoestring staff on the rolls.

The Air Quality Monitoring and Research Lab (AQMRL), Emission Inventory Group (EIG) and Enforcement Department (ED) were set up in 1976 when the city experienced the first rush of industrial growth. Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) was appointed to study pollution levels and recommend ways to tackle it. The three bodies were set up based on its submissions – the AQMRL was tasked to study the over-all air quality, EIG to inspect industrial emissions, collect samples and test them for toxicity, while ED was envisioned to work with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), empowered to shut down facilities flouting norms.

Both EIG and ED “died a slow death since 2009-2010” said a BMC officer, as it was understood that MPCB was on the job anyway, unknowing that it is tasked to monitor industrial emissions across the state, while the other two bodies were set up for micro monitoring.

The AQMRL is surviving with five officials against its mandated strength of 42. It included posts of scientists, chemists, lab assistants and other scientific staff.

An official from the environment department said five manual air quality monitoring stations – Andheri east, Borivali east, Bhandup, Deonar and Maravali (Chembur) – have been shut due to lack of staff. A functional manual station needs at least three lab assistants to work in three shifts to procure a 24-hour data. “Of the 18 sanctioned posts, there are only two lab assistants. This makes it impossible to even have one manual air quality monitoring station to be functional for full 24-hours,” he said. (See box.)

In a knee-jerk reaction to the cope with the city’s bad air, the civic body recently pressed into service a mobile van to monitor air quality from hotspots such as industrial areas. Operating the vehicle requires one junior scientific assistant and lab assistant for accurate readings; and lack of manpower has resulted in its use only on need-basis.

A few weeks ago, BMC set up five CAAQMS (Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations), which are functional, but a study of the data can be done only after collection over a period of time.

Officials said, along-side, if the manual monitoring stations set up nearly five decades ago, were functional a closer understanding of air pollution hot spots in the city and new pollutants in the environment could be achieved. Currently there are five manual monitoring stations in the city, down from 28 in 1976. “The staff could have taken the air quality monitoring van to areas where complains are severe. It would have helped us act accordingly,” said the official.

Maintenance of manual monitoring stations is also a task; “we have no staff to do all this even for one station”.

The existing staff is pulled into other activities such as preparing responses for PILs in courts, for questions in the Legislative Assembly, annual Environment Status Report and reports for seniors as and when asked. “Alongside, there is no way we can do quality work in this lab,” said the official.

The AQMRL, which was located in Khar till 2013 in a 6000 square feet area, was shifted to a building in Santacruz in a much-compromised 1800 square feet space. Officials said it is inadequate to monitor the city and conduct research.

An officer from BMC’s environment department agreed about the lacunae and said the civic body was “in the process of filling up the posts”. An engineer from the department however said, “There is a proposal to promote some of these officials but so far there is no word on filling up the vacancies.”

A senior at BMC headquarters said, “We are currently on a fire-fighting mode to tackle air pollution; these are long-term problems that will be resolved with time.”

Officials said with BMC’s plan to install hundreds of sensor-based air quality monitors and prepare a grid, the staff requirement will be lot more. “At the end of the day, we as civic bodies are responsible for air quality in our jurisdiction. The MPCB functions at the state level, it is our duty as civic body to tackle this.”

JJ Hospital on guard

A day after the state health department issued an air pollution advisory amid worsening air quality, the state has appointed a nodal hospital for 17 polluted cities for sentinel surveillance for acute respiratory illnesses (ARI). The state-run JJ Hospital will be Mumbai’s sentinel hospital which will work closely with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for the ARI surveillance.