The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced that it will bring in the strictest anti-pollution rules under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP Stage IV) if the Air Quality Index (AQI) in any part of Mumbai stays above 200 for three days in a row.

These rules mainly focus on shutting down construction work, which is one of the biggest sources of dust in the city.

Interestingly, Delhi, where people have been breathing polluted air for over a month, has not enforced GRAP-IV so far, even though its AQI has stayed above 300 regularly.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) recently removed GRAP-III curbs but made Stages I and II stricter after a slight improvement in pollution levels last week.

Mumbai’s air quality improved to the ‘moderate’ category on Monday, with the city recording an AQI of 111, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

Most of the city’s 30 monitoring stations showed air levels between ‘moderate’ and ‘satisfactory’.

On Sunday, Mumbai’s average AQI was 104, also in the moderate range. However, some pockets like the Bandra Kurla Complex briefly touched the ‘severe’ zone.

The city has been waking up to hazy mornings for the past week.

As per CPCB rules:

  • 0–50 is ‘good’

  • 51–100 is ‘satisfactory’

  • 101–200 is ‘moderate’

  • 201–300 is ‘poor’

  • 301–400 is ‘very poor’

  • 401–500 is ‘severe’

The Mazgaon area, where heavy construction work is going on, saw the AQI touch 305 twice in November, once on the 11th and again on the 24th.

Mumbai and its nearby cities are undergoing a massive transformation, with new Metro lines, roadworks, bridges, and large building projects.

Old mills, factories, chawls, and slums are slowly being replaced by tall skyscrapers.

This rapid construction has added more dust to the air.

BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani said that more people in the city are complaining of breathing issues and coughing.

To bring pollution down, the civic body is using water sprinklers in areas with high AQI. Construction sites and industries that add dust have been told to follow strict rules.

BMC workers will sprinkle water on roads and footpaths so that dust settles. Notices have already been sent to many polluting sites in the past week.

As per the BMC’s guidelines issued on October 15, 2024, construction sites must:

  • Put up tin sheet barricades

  • Use green cloth covers

  • Sprinkle water during any demolition

  • Store debris properly

  • Use water fogging while loading or unloading materials

  • Install dust-extraction and air-quality monitoring systems

Last year, the BMC had also stopped construction work in places like Borivli and Byculla when pollution levels went up, and GRAP-IV measures were briefly used.