Bombay HC raps civic bodies over air pollution, demands strict enforcement

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday came down sharply on Mumbai’s civic authorities and the state pollution watchdog, making it clear that the court was not opposed to development or ongoing construction but would insist on strict adherence to pollution-control norms to arrest the city’s worsening air quality.

A bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had failed to ensure compliance on the ground, despite clear rules meant to curb dust and emissions from construction sites.

“We do not want any construction work or development to stop, but we want compliance. You have failed to ensure compliance,” the bench observed, warning that unless immediate and effective steps were taken, air pollution in the city could spiral beyond control. “If things go out of hand, then nothing will remain within your control,” the court cautioned.

The remarks came as BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani and MPCB secretary Devendra Singh appeared before the bench, following directions issued by the court a day earlier. The judges urged senior officials to move beyond paperwork and enforcement on file.

“Please come up with suggestions. It will not work like this. Apart from being officers, you too are citizens and have a fundamental duty,” the bench said, underlining that accountability for public health did not rest solely on legal mandates.

The court was hearing a batch of petitions highlighting the deteriorating air quality index (AQI) in Mumbai, particularly during peak construction periods. During the proceedings, the bench also took serious note of the conditions faced by workers at construction sites, many of whom are routinely exposed to hazardous dust and pollutants.

Emphasising that the right to life applies to everyone, including the urban poor, the court questioned the MPCB on whether it had issued any advisories specifically aimed at protecting construction workers’ health.

“You have to issue an advisory for project proponents so that workers’ health is not affected. They are exposed to serious health threats. You do not care for the poor,” the bench said, in unusually blunt remarks.

“At least give them a mask. This is common sense. Right to health is a fundamental right,” the judges added, stressing that basic protective measures could not be treated as optional.

In response, the MPCB told the court it would place concrete suggestions and proposals before the bench on Wednesday. However, the court noted in its order that far more needed to be done by both the civic body and the pollution control board to address the scale of the problem.

The bench also questioned the BMC commissioner on enforcement at the ground level, asking whether he conducted surprise inspections outside his office and whether any real action had been taken against violators.

Senior advocate S.U. Kamdar, appearing for the civic body, replied in the affirmative, informing the court that the BMC had stepped up enforcement in recent months. He said that since November, the corporation had issued 433 show-cause notices to construction sites for non-compliance with pollution-control guidelines and had ordered stoppage of work at 148 sites.

Despite these figures, the court indicated that enforcement needed to be more consistent and visible to have a meaningful impact on Mumbai’s air quality, signalling that it would continue to closely monitor the issue in the days ahead.