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Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Before winter sets in, Mumbai Metropolitan Region to get 15 new air quality monitoring stations
In a bid to ramp up the existing infrastructure of air quality monitoring, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is set to get 15 new continuous ambient air quality monitoring system stations or CAAQMS in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) before the start of winter. According to the MPCB, while three additional stations each will be set up in Thane, Vasai-Virar, and Kalyan-Dombivali areas, two stations each will be installed in the Mira-Bhayander, Ulhasnagar and Bhiwandi Nizampur areas. Each of these stations will cost Rs 9 crore, officials said. The move will be a big push against a prolonged demand raised by scientists and experts amid the growing concern of the worsening Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mumbai as well as its satellite districts. According to the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) dashboard, 26 AQI monitoring stations are operational in Mumbai. These stations are jointly operated by the MPCB, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). However, the number of AQI monitoring stations operating in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) is limited. The CPCB's dashboard shows that at present, there are only two stations operational in Thane (Kasarvadavali and Upvan Fort) while there is one each in Bhiwandi (Gokul Nagar), Kalyan (Khadakpada), Ulhasnagar (Siddhi Vinayak Nagar), Virar (Vilanj) and Mira Bhayander (Bhayander West) areas. There is no monitoring in Dombivali. 'The work order for acquiring these stations has been issued, and they will be supplied to us in a phased manner starting next month. Before winter, when the city's AQI usually worsens, we will have more stations in place to monitor and identify areas which record poor AQI and will be able to mitigate them accordingly,' an MPCB official told The Indian Express. 'The plan of augmenting the number of monitoring stations is part of a larger project where we intend to install more than 50 monitoring stations across Maharashtra,' the official added. Over the past few years, poor air quality days have become a regular occurrence during the winter. Between November 2022 and January 2023, Mumbai recorded nearly 60 days of bad AQI out of the total 92 days. The next year, the BMC launched the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP) to curb the worsening AQI of the city. In its guidelines, the Mumbai civic administration had identified construction works, garbage burning, and road dust displacement to be some of the major contributing factors behind the worsening AQI. However, the administration and independent experts had expressed concerns that there was also a need to monitor the AQI in the MMR districts where the existing infrastructure is not up to the mark. 'Outside Mumbai, issues like garbage burning and dust displacement are rampant. Since the air shared across the cities is common, the AQI of Mumbai also gets affected severely due to the activities in the MMR areas. Therefore, it is important to increase the area of monitoring across districts,' Bhagwan Kesbhat, who heads the NGO Waatavaran, told The Indian Express. 'It is a positive move that the MPCB is adding new stations, but they should be installing them in proper areas and must not relocate them after the stations show high numbers. It is important to be precise with the AQI numbers and take mitigation measures accordingly,' he added.
Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Nearly 60% of bakeries in Mumbai yet to switch to cleaner fuel
With less than a month to meet the deadline, almost 60 percent of the bakeries in Mumbai are yet to switch to cleaner fuels. In a recent survey carried out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) it has been found that around 340 of the total bakeries in Mumbai or 59% of the total 574 functional bakeries are yet to switch to cleaner fuels. Furthermore, the data shows that 187 bakeries or 32.5% of the total bakeries are currently using cleaner fuels. According to the BMC's data, there are 1,064 licensed bakeries in Mumbai, out of which 490 of them are non-operational while 574 are currently operational. The BMC's survey came two weeks before the deadline of the Bombay High Court's (HC) order, which mandated all bakeries and eateries to switch to cleaner fuel by July 8. The civic body's data was presented in a review meeting that was carried out by Mumbai (Suburban) guardian minister, Ashish Shelar. Civic officials said that of the 340 bakeries which are yet to switch to cleaner fuels 28 bakeries have already initiated the process to switch. 'Of the remaining bakeries, 150 of them have shared their willingness to make the switch. The numbers are being updated in our database and by July 9, we are expecting more bakeries to either switch into the process of conversion or complete the process entirely,' the civic official said. During the review meeting, Shelar said that he suggested that a special incentive scheme for bakers be launched that will be backed by the both BMC and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). Earlier in February, the Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) had waived off security deposit for bakers in Mumbai. Since 2022, Mumbai – despite being an island city has been looming under the woes of air pollution. In 2023, the BMC issued the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP) in which smoke and emission generated from bakeries and eateries were identified as one of the key sources of Mumbai's air pollution. The BMC's data shows that as of today, bakeries contribute to 6% of Mumbai's overall air quality. 'Even though 6% may not be a very high number, it should be noted that almost all these bakeries are located in densely populated areas like Byculla, Mazgaon, Malad, Santacruz among others. Therefore, their contribution to human beings is actually very hazardous,' said a civic official. At present, the traditional pav – which is a staple food in Mumbai – are baked in ovens (bhattis) which are dome shaped structures made out of brick and mortar, which are suited for wood fires as the sole source of heat. Members from the Bombay Bakers Association (BBA) said that usage of electricity in baking pav is economically unviable and impossible to be used in the dome shaped structures that have a maximum area of 150 square feet.
