Mumbai: The special squads formed at ward-level have sent notices to 461 construction sites in all the 24 administrative wards asking them to adhere to the BMC's anti-pollution guidelines. The civic body also warned the builders that the work on their sites will be stopped immediately or may even be sealed if they fail to comply.
BMC's guidelines
To control the rising air pollution in the city, the BMC had issued 27 guidelines to be followed by the construction sites and infrastructural projects. At present, there are around 6,000 construction sites across the city.
The squads visited the construction site, videographed the violations and issued a stop-work notice. These squads in 24 wards inspected 815 sites, out of which 461 were informed to carry out the necessary measures as early as possible.
Notices issued to govt projects
The BMC has also sent notices to sites such as Goregaon Mulund Link Road project, contractors carrying out concretisation of roads and other work sites. The BMC's K -West ward has even sent notices to MHADA, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to comply with the guidelines to prevent air-pollution.
Sudhakar Shinde, Additional Municipal Commissioner (western suburbs) said, “There are immediate and long-time measures to be followed at the sites. The period allotted for the compliance depends on the type of measures. Accordingly, action will be taken on the sites failing to follow the guidelines.” BMC's T ward had issued a stop work notice to two construction sites in Mulund last week.
As per guidelines, the construction and infrastructure sites should erect metal sheets around the periphery of the project. All buildings under construction must have green cloth /jute sheet/tarpaulin from all sides, continuous spraying of water during demolition of the structure and installing CCTV etc. The BMC has also started to wash 650km of roads in the city with water daily to settle the dust particles.
