Poor air quality in Mumbai: BMC procuring 30 more anti-smog machines

Dadar is cloaked in dense smog on October 18. Pic/Shadab Khan

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been using anti-smog machines since Sunday to make Mumbai's air breathable again. However, the equipment has only been used in the island city, and this has not gone unnoticed by annoyed residents of the suburbs. Civic officials claim they will start using the machines in the suburbs too.

After the Prime Minister's Officer expressed concern about the sudden rise in the city pollution level, the BMC started taking measures such as deploying six anti-smog machines across the city. A Lokhandwala resident, Dhaval Shah, said suburban Mumbai is where the majority of new and redevelopment-related construction work takes place and major manufacturing units and other sources of emissions are situated there.

"The suburbs are the most badly impacted. They have the worst air quality index and still machines are being deployed only to south Mumbai. It simply defies logic and is an injustice to areas that contribute the most to the city's property tax collections," Dhaval added.

Smog engulfs an under-construction building in Prabhadevi. Pic/Ashish Raje

Civic activist and Kurla resident Anil Galgali also slammed civic authority. "We are also taxpayers, and every area in the city is polluted. If the BMC implements a dust-mitigation plan only in the city area, it will not work. The BMC should also think about the suburbs," he said. "Construction is in full swing in the suburbs, so anti-smog machines are needed there, too. The BMC should act quickly," Galgali added.

A BMC official said, on the condition of anonymity, that though the machines were being used only in the city area, they would also be used in the suburbs. "Every morning, the pollution level report is consulted to decide which area to use these machines," the official added.

Meanwhile, the civic body also started the process of procuring 30 anti-smog machines. "We have invited tenders for this and the last date for submitting them is October 30. After that, the tenders will be scrutinised and the administration will give its approval. The procurement process will take at least two months," the official said.

According to the tender document, the BMC will spend Rs 48.6 crore for 30 machines, which includes three-year maintenance. Deputy Municipal Commissioner Chanda Jadhav did not respond to mid-day's calls and messages till the time of going to press.

30
No of anti-smog machines being procured