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Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) stepped up its scrutiny of construction sites earlier this week after the civic chief directed officials to enforce anti-pollution measures more stringently amid rising winter smog. The town planning department was instructed to personally verify dust-control systems at active project sites and shut down any location failing to comply for a week. Acting on these orders, engineering teams have begun field inspections across construction zones, quarries, RMC plants and coal-based bakeries, ensuring adherence to air and noise pollution norms mandated under the SOP issued last year.
The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation intensified its oversight of ongoing construction activity earlier this week, responding to the seasonal spike in smog that typically becomes more prominent during winter. The civic commissioner, Dr Kailas Shinde, had instructed department heads during a recent review meeting to adopt stricter and more effective preventive measures across all development sites. He had specifically asked the town planning department to verify, through on-ground checks, whether dust-mitigation systems were being followed thoroughly. The commissioner had also made it clear that any lapse would result in a week-long suspension of work at the concerned site. Advertisement
Following these directions, assistant director of town planning Somnath Kekaan coordinated the deployment of engineers from both the town planning division and ward offices. Each team has been assigned defined zones and tasked with conducting spot inspections to ascertain whether air- and noise-pollution controls are being properly enforced. Alongside construction sites, ward-level teams have also begun checking quarries, cement-manufacturing RMC plants and bakeries or tandoor units that rely on coal, as these too contribute substantially to localised pollution levels.
NMMC's heightened action aligns with the ongoing public-interest litigation taken up suo motu by the Bombay High Court, where the court had directed authorities late last year to implement robust dust-control measures at construction locations across the municipal region. Considering the court's directives and the numerous complaints submitted by residents over the past year, the municipal administration had prepared a formal Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) under the guidance and approval of Dr Shinde. This SOP was rolled out to all developers earlier last year and made compliance compulsory across every construction site.
As per the SOP, several measures are mandatory for all construction sites. A protective metal-sheet barricade at least 20 feet high must be installed around the entire project perimeter, while regular fogging and sprinkler systems are required to control airborne dust. Sites must operate wheel-wash systems to clean vehicle tyres at entry and exit points, and transport all dust-generating materials such as cement, sand and soil in fully covered trucks. CCTV cameras must be installed to monitor compliance, and adjoining footpaths and roads must be kept clean to avoid dust buildup. All dust-prone materials, including sand and crushed aggregates, must be stored under tarpaulin covers. Generator sets must be equipped with silencers and noise-control enclosures, construction and demolition waste must be disposed of only at authorised facilities, and work timings must be regulated to minimise noise disturbances.
NMMC has reiterated that compliance with every provision of the SOP is compulsory for developers, contractors and project promoters operating within its jurisdiction. The civic body has warned that failure to implement these measures promptly will invite penalties, including stop-work orders.
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