Mumbai, Nov 27 (IANS) Amid deteriorating air quality and alarming pollution in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora on Thursday urged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Bhushan Gagarin to take immediate & extraordinary action, including a temporary halt on all digging and construction work until air quality improves.

He claimed that Mumbai is confronting a severe air pollution crisis, terming it a “public-health emergency,” demanding extraordinary measures to address the city’s deteriorating air quality.

He has argued that alarming pollution levels pose serious health risks to millions of residents.

In his two-page letter, Deora said, “Mumbai’s air-pollution crisis is no longer a seasonal issue — it is a public-health emergency. India needs a nationwide war & a national consensus against air pollution. Mumbai is gasping for clean air. As a Mumbaikar & a public representative, I believe we deserve better. It is my duty as your MP to stand with you on this growing concern. Let’s come together & build a public-awareness movement for clean air.”

Mumbai’s Air Quality Index has reached dangerous levels.

“On November 22, the AQI hit 298 (Unhealthy), with PM2.5 at 126 µg/m³ and PM10 at 163 µg/m³. The following day, November 23, conditions remained severe with an AQI of 255, PM2.5 at 110 µg/m³, and PM10 at 138 µg/m³. October 2025 was Mumbai’s most polluted month of the year, with several monitoring stations recording their highest PM2.5 and PM10 levels since January,” he said.

Deora said that the BMC Environment Status Report for 2024-25 shows annual PM10 levels across monitoring zones ranging between 70-125 µg/m³, while PM2.5 levels range from 27-52 µg/m³, with Chembur reporting the highest concentrations.

He has demanded a temporary moratorium on all road-digging, construction, and excavation activities until citywide AQI levels fall to safe limits, noting that construction dust is the single biggest contributor to particulate pollution in Mumbai, daily strict inspections across all construction sites with immediate shutdown of any site violating dust-control norms, mandatory washing and water-sprinkling of trucks transporting debris, cement, soil, and construction material, with on-site washing bays as a compulsory requirement and enhanced dust-suppression measures including fogging, roadside water-sprinkling, and mechanical sweeping, particularly in pollution hotspots.

Further, Deora has suggested the installation of real-time AQI monitors at construction and industrial clusters, with ward-wise air-quality data made public and zero tolerance for repeat violators, including steep penalties and restrictions on future permits or tender participation.

According to Deora, prolonged exposure to high PM2.5 and PM10 levels increases respiratory illness, cardiovascular risk, and long-term morbidity, directly impacting millions of citizens, including children and the elderly.

“Despite BMC’s October 2024 guidelines requiring full barricading, green-cloth covering, water sprinkling, dust-extraction systems, and mandated AQI monitors at construction sites, compliance on the ground remains inconsistent. Certain neighbourhoods, including Mazagaon, have repeatedly crossed AQI 300, indicating that the current enforcement regime is inadequate,” he said.

Deora stressed that air-quality management must become a year-round priority, not merely a seasonal response, urging immediate action in the interest of Mumbai’s health and future.

–IANS

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