The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has told the Bombay High Court that a total of 1,954 construction projects are currently underway across Mumbai, and that large-scale enforcement action is being taken against sites violating air pollution norms.
In an affidavit filed before the court, the BMC said that as of January 19, 1,292 sensor-based air quality monitor installations had been completed at construction sites, while 110 installations were still in progress.
The civic body said construction sites that failed to install sensor-based air quality monitors after January 15, 2026 were being issued Stop Work Notices. After the prescribed compliance period, notices were issued to around 662 non-compliant sites for failure to adhere to directions and guidelines laid down by the court.
The BMC also provided details on bakeries operating within its jurisdiction. According to the affidavit, 593 bakeries exist within BMC limits. Of these, 239 were already operating on cleaner fuels such as LPG, PNG or electricity. Between April 2025 and now, 109 bakeries have converted to cleaner fuel.
The Corporation said 69 bakeries are currently in the process of conversion, while six bakeries have voluntarily shut down operations. Another 170 bakeries are yet to convert, and enforcement action is underway. All 170 bakeries have been issued notices, the BMC said, with Ward Health Officers overseeing compliance as directed by the court.
The affidavit, filed through advocate Joel Carlos, also stated that in a single fortnight between December 29, 2025 and January 13, 2026, the BMC issued 409 show cause notices and 284 stop work notices. Of these, seven show cause notices and 22 stop work notices have so far been revoked by the Corporation.
The BMC said the notices were issued mainly for non-compliance, including inadequate mitigation measures such as uncovered construction material, absence of metal sheets around site peripheries, fogging machines not installed or non-operational, lack of tyre-washing facilities, missing air quality monitors, insufficient green cover, and failure to clean or wash access roads.
The civic body said a central monitoring system and dashboard, being developed through the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, has now been operationalised. The system enables real-time aggregation, visualisation and monitoring of air-quality data generated from construction-site sensors, allowing ward-wise and site-specific identification of pollution hotspots for enforcement and mitigation action. The BMC added that it is ensuring installation, integration and centralised monitoring of sensor-based air quality monitors at construction sites in accordance with court directions.
On road dust mitigation, the Corporation said it had earlier deployed 41 water tankers for deep cleaning of roads. This number has now been increased to 126 tankers following the last hearing of the Bombay High Court, as part of an intensified deep-cleaning drive across Mumbai.
Between December and now, the BMC said it detected 73 cases of open garbage burning and collected fines amounting to Rs 84,100.
The civic body noted that while Mumbai’s Air Quality Index (AQI) generally ranges between 101 and 140, higher pollution levels are typically recorded between January and March, and again between November and December, based on trends observed in previous years. The worst pollution levels were recorded in 2023, it said.
The BMC also pointed out that Mumbai is among the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) non-attainment cities. Funds allocated under the NCAP and the 15th Finance Commission have been utilised for air pollution mitigation measures, awareness campaigns and information dissemination, which, it claimed, have contributed to a reduction in particulate pollution levels.
According to the Corporation, Mumbai has recorded a significant decline in PM10 levels since 2017.
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Published By:
Nitish Singh
Published On:
Jan 21, 2026
