Amid news reports that the air quality in Mumbai is very bad or at times even worse than that of Delhi, shocking information has emerged through an Right to Information (RTI) query that the Mumbai division of the State-run Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has taken action on just one pollution complaint in the last seven years.
Sharing information obtained by a Mumbai-based activist Jeetendra Ghadge under the RTI Act, former Central Information Commissioner (CIC) Shailesh Gandhi said: "As per information received from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board Mumbai division, the Board has taken action only in one single complaint during the last seven years."
"The virtual lack of action on part of the MPCB on complaints relating to air pollution in Mumbai during the last seven years is in sharp contrast to the old data uploaded on the website of the MPCB which shows that as of March 31, 2007, as many as 54 complaints were filed under Section 37 r.w.Sec.21 of the Air ( Prevention and Control of Pollution Act), 1981. Of these cases, convictions were secured in 49 cases, while four cases were dismissed," Gandhi said.
Gandhi, who served as the CIC from September 18 2008 to July 6, 2012, said that such has been the state of affairs at the MPCB that it had not uploaded any data on its website since 2007.
"Similarly, as of 2007 two applications were filed Under Section 22A of the Air (P&C.P.) Act, 1981 But now in the last seven years no such application has been filed," the former CIC said.
"There has been absolutely no action taken by the MPCB in the last seven years on any company or individual for causing air pollution nor have they taken any action against construction-related complaints for causing dust pollution which has severely impacted the air quality of Mumbai this year," Gandhi said.
On a query raised by Ghadge, seeking details of any action taken against a company or individual for causing air pollution, the Mumbai Division has gone on record saying that no penal or prosecution action has been taken against anyone causing air pollution.
Ghadge of "The Young Whistleblowers Foundation" said: "Despite Mumbai being rated as the most polluted city in the world the MPCB doesn’t seem to take its job seriously and has completely stopped taking action against individuals causing air pollution"
"The MPCB should crack down on construction sites as well as factories that are polluting the air by not following the rules and regulations. The fact that during the lockdown the air quality remained good proves that the problem is artificially caused by human activity," the RTI activist said.
The inaction on the part of the MPCB’s Mumbai division should be viewed in the backdrop of stringent provisions prescribed under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution Act), 1981 to deal with air polluters. Under section 22 A of the Act, the MPCB can approach a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class for restraining such a person from emitting such air pollutants.
The MPCB does not seem to have issued notices to the air polluting industries or individuals nor has it taken the legal route to deal with the air polluters in the country’s commercial capital.
It may be recalled that the air quality level had worsened on the morning of February 1, 2023, with the AQI crossing the 300 mark in parts of the metropolis. The north-eastern suburb of Chembur - at 328 -- had recorded the worst air quality, followed by nearby Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) at 319, Bhandup at 317, and the north-western suburb of Andheri at 305.
At 6 AM on February 1, the air quality in Mumbai was much worse with BKC recording an AQI of 362, Bhandup 314, and Chembur 324.