MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government, along with civic authorities, has intensified measures against air pollution in Mumbai, issuing stop-work notices to over 1,000 construction sites for breaching environmental regulations, as stated by state Minister Pankaja Munde on Tuesday.
The environment minister reported to the legislative assembly that as of January, 1,952 of the 2,224 active construction sites—nearly 88 percent—had installed low-cost air quality sensors.
Official figures indicate that between October 2025 and January 2026, a total of 1,981 show-cause notices and 1,047 stop-work notices were issued as part of the ongoing “Clean Air” initiative, Munde noted in a written response regarding air quality index (AQI) levels.
Munde dismissed claims of a public health crisis arising from pollution, citing reports from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), which found no adverse health impacts among vulnerable populations, including children and seniors, despite fluctuations in air quality between ‘satisfactory’ and ‘moderate’.
“We are enforcing a strict escalation process for violators. Initially, construction projects not complying with dust-control guidelines receive a formal notice, followed by a show-cause notice, and ultimately a stop-work order if they do not rectify the situation,” she explained.
The minister emphasized that AQI levels in Mumbai remain in the satisfactory range of 51-100 and medium range of 101-200.
Highlighting the push for tech-driven monitoring, she reiterated that 1,952 out of 2,224 active sites had installed air quality sensors as of January.
However, she noted that 678 projects were ordered to cease work on January 16 alone for failing to comply with sensor installation requirements.
During the same period, BMC’s 25 ward-level flying squads actively penalized the illegal transport of debris, collecting over ₹1.21 lakh in fines.
To address the “dust menace,” the government has deployed a substantial fleet of 126 water tankers and 25 misting machines to wash 14,408 kilometers of city roads.
