Strict action on pollution in Mumbai, notice to 1000+ sites

Mumbai| The Maharashtra government and civic bodies have become strict in dealing with the problem of air pollution. A large-scale campaign is being run to improve the air quality in the city. Under this, strict action is being taken against construction sites that do not follow the rules. On Tuesday, Minister Pankaja Munde gave information about this in the Assembly. State Environment Minister Pankaja Munde said that notices have been issued to stop work on more than 1000 construction sites in Mumbai. These sites are accused of violating environmental rules. This action has been taken under the government’s clean air campaign. According to the data, a total of 1,981 show cause notices were issued in the city between October 2025 and January 2026. Additionally, 1,047 sites were ordered to shut down. The minister gave this information in a written reply on the Air Quality Index (AQI). Minister Pankaja Munde denied any public health crisis due to pollution. He cited the reports of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC). According to these reports, despite the air quality being in the satisfactory and moderate category, no adverse effect was observed on children and the elderly.

Strict action against violators

Pankaja Munde said that strict action is being taken against the violators. He said that projects that do not follow the rules and guidelines are first given a formal notice. After this, a show cause notice is issued and if the rules are still not followed, an order is given to stop the work. The minister said that the AQI level in Mumbai is satisfactory (51-100) and moderate (101-200). Emphasizing on technology, he said that till January, air quality sensors have been installed at 1,952 out of 2,224 construction sites in the city. However, work on 678 projects was stopped on January 16 itself due to non-installation of sensors. 25 ward-level flying squads of BMC have also taken action against those carrying debris illegally. A fine of more than Rs 1.21 lakh has been collected between October 2025 and January 2026. Additionally, 126 water tankers and 25 misting machines have been deployed to tackle the dust problem, washing 14,408 km of roads.