BMC chief says, 'If artificial rain helps curb pollution in Delhi, will use it in Mumbai'

As the Delhi government explores the possibility of using artificial rain to tackle air pollution, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief said the measure will be taken in Mumbai if it is proven effective. "If it is a success in Delhi, we will immediately arrange for it in the city," Civic Administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal said.

Other measures that have been mooted are setting up jet sprays at the city's entry points to clean vehicles and a mobile app to keep track of notices and the implementation of guidelines. The civic body also said it is considering serving a stop-work notice to the authorities in charge of the bullet train project as it is responsible for high air pollution at Bandra Kurla Complex. The BMC has been taking several steps to tackle air pollution such as spraying water on roads and penalising errant contractors.

Marine Drive was shrouded in smog on November 7. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Chahal told media persons on Tuesday, "Currently, we are spraying water on around 650 km of roads every day. There are 2,050 km of roads in the city. It means every road has a turn after three days. We are working to wash 1,000 km of road daily. We deploy 150 tankers for the same. But we are also looking at a cloud seeding project, which is more impactful even if we do it once in a month. We are keeping an eye on the artificial rain project in Delhi. If it succeeds, we will immediately try to bring it here."

He added that, according to IIT Kanpur, climate change is to blame for the poor air quality. "It started happening last year and eventually interior villages will also face the problem. It won't disappear within a year or two and we need to plan for at least the next 20 years. We need to form rules and regulations and follow them strictly to control air pollution from various sources like construction sites and industries," Chahal said.

Notices to construction sites

The BMC started issuing notices to those in charge of construction sites for not adhering to air pollution norms. "As per the guidelines, we have given them 15 to 30 days to implement certain norms as they are required to use certain machinery. We will start serving notices after one month. We will also launch an app in December so we can track notices and compliance," said the civic chief. Meanwhile, ward offices started sending notices to some authorities, including two Metro contractors. Some norms like spraying water and covering up debris can be done immediately, so the notices had been served, said a BMC official.

Chahal said we have been continuously instructing that norms be followed at the site of the bullet train project at BKC, but this has not happened so far. "We will serve the people concerned notices in the coming days if they won't follow guidelines, as they are responsible for air pollution in the area," he said.

Dumping grounds to be monitored

Fires tend to break out in dumping grounds, creating large smog clouds. The BMC will also deploy marshals to do surveillance at these spots to prevent the lighting of fires during the day. "We will deploy a squad of marshals for 24x7 surveillance at dumping grounds," said Chahal.

The commissioner said there was no need to stop construction work as of now. "There can be measures like working on odd/even days or stopping construction work for a certain period but it is not needed immediately. The air quality of the city has been reduced to some extent and we keep monitoring it," he said.

The AQI (air quality index) at Chembur junction, which was around 400 on Wednesday, was discussed in a meeting held on Thursday. "The AQI centre at Chembur is at a traffic junction so the pollution has to be high. But it does not represent the air of the entire city. We should not take measures considering the AQI at certain spots," Chahal said. Other civic bodies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region have been instructed by the chief minister to prevent the spread of pollution.

150
No of tankers used for spraying roads