Mumbai woke up under a dense haze this week as air quality plunged to “severe" levels across several neighbourhoods, forcing India’s financial capital to join the likes of Delhi and activate its toughest pollution-control measures under GRAP-4.
Over the past few days, air-quality monitors have registered “very poor" to “severe" pollution levels, prompting alarm across the city. Areas like Mazgaon, Deonar, Malad, Borivali East, Andheri East (Chakala), Navy Nagar, Powai and Mulund have been among the worst affected, with residents complaining of breathing discomfort, reduced visibility and irritation in eyes.
Mumbai has started implementing GRAP-4 (Pollution Emergency Protocol) by BMC in several highly polluted areas like Mazgaon, Deonar, Malad, Borivali East, Chakala-Andheri East, Navy Nagar, Powai and Mulund due to persistent poor air quality.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has imposed a range of emergency measures aimed at curbing further pollution. These include a ban or strict regulation on dust-producing construction and demolition activity; strict enforcement against garbage and waste-burning in landfills or open spaces; tightening of vehicle emissions, with intensified checks for pollution certificates (PUC) and attempts to reduce traffic-related emissions; frequent water-sprinkling and mechanised road-sweeping to suppress dust from roads and open grounds.
BMC has also launched a citywide road-cleaning and dust-control drive from November 28 to 30 with focus particularly on long, busy corridors and sites where construction activity and vehicular movement contribute to dust build-up. The civic body has already issued “stop-work" orders to dozens of construction sites found to be contributing to the pollution surge, apart from reactivating ward-level teams and deploying “flying squads" to monitor compliance.
Under GRAP-4, many construction and dust-generating activities have been stopped, and dozens of sites are being closely monitored. The BMC has issued stop-work/shutdown notices to over 50 construction and RMC (ready-mix concrete) sites in the worst-affected wards. Several small industries, including bakeries, marble-cutting units and other local operations, have been asked to adopt cleaner processes or face punishment.
The pollution crisis has also turned into a political flashpoint. The city’s Congress unit has unveiled the ‘Mumbai Clean Air Action Plan’, which calls for recognising clean air as a fundamental right, implementing 24/7 monitoring of pollution-causing activities, planting one million trees, and enforcing stricter pollution standards for vehicles, construction sites, and industries.
In a post on X, former Maharashtra minister and Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad accused the state government of failing to protect the environment. She argued that unchecked construction activity and policies favouring contractors have contributed to the city’s worsening pollution. Gaikwad said Mumbai is “choking under smog and the BJP’s contractor raj", adding that every resident has a fundamental right to breathe clean air.
