Ashish Shelar, the head of the Mumbai
BJP, has urged Devendra Fadnavis, the Deputy Chief Minister, to establish an inquiry and determine culpability for disloyal officers in light of the worsening Air Quality Index in Mumbai, particularly during the winter. He also attributed Mumbai's AQI dropping from "poor" to "very low" on the Maha Vikas Aghadi under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray.
Environmental specialists claim that the financial favours given to the real estate industry during the Maha Vikas Aghadi administration have contributed to the unchecked expansion of concurrent development projects taking place all across the city. The
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) building proposal and environment departments also paid no regard to the potential environmental risks that all of these construction operations would have on Mumbai's air quality, according to Shelar.
Shelar asserted that Mumbai's air quality has deteriorated to unsafe levels and that more than 50% of the pollution was a result of this winter's rapid spike in building activity, higher vehicle emissions, and changes in wind speed. Therefore, he continued, "the government must step in and take prompt actions to avert future deterioration."
Across Mumbai, there are close to 1,500 construction and renovation projects in progress. To address the pollution crisis in Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, a holistic approach is required. Unfortunately, it has been discovered that the BMC's environment control cell is deficient in this area," stated Shelar.
According to Shelar, the state government needs to start taking strict action to address the pollution situation. To address the pollution levels in Mumbai and the surrounding MMR, the Maharashtra government must establish a Commission for Air Quality Management, which will be presided over by the MMRDA. This commission would monitor pollution levels and develop a graded response action plan. The BMC must establish the long-delayed construction and debris recycling facility and order the MMR's construction industry to follow pollution control standards. Additionally, the Municipalities in the MMR must be required to do this, he said.
