The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has informed the Bombay High Court that 1,954 construction projects are currently underway across Mumbai, with strict enforcement actions being taken against sites violating air pollution norms.
According to an affidavit filed on January 19, 1,292 sensor-based air quality monitors have been installed at construction sites, while 110 installations are still in progress. Construction sites failing to install these monitors after January 15, 2026, have been issued Stop Work Notices, with around 662 non-compliant sites already receiving notices for failing to adhere to court directions.
The affidavit also detailed the status of bakeries in the city. Of 593 bakeries, 239 already operate on cleaner fuels such as LPG, PNG, or electricity, 109 converted since April 2025, and 69 are in the process of conversion. Six bakeries have voluntarily shut down, while 170 have yet to comply and are under enforcement action, overseen by Ward Health Officers.
In a two-week period between December 29, 2025, and January 13, 2026, the BMC issued 409 show-cause notices and 284 stop-work notices, mainly for violations such as uncovered construction materials, missing air quality monitors, lack of tyre-washing facilities, non-functional fogging machines, absence of metal sheet barriers, insufficient green cover, and unclean access roads. Some notices (seven show-cause and 22 stop-work) have been revoked.
To strengthen monitoring, the BMC has operationalised a central dashboard in collaboration with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, enabling real-time, site-specific tracking of air quality data. Road dust mitigation efforts have also been intensified, increasing the number of water tankers deployed for deep-cleaning from 41 to 126. Between December and January, 73 cases of open garbage burning were detected, with fines of Rs 84,100 collected.
The Corporation noted that Mumbai’s Air Quality Index (AQI) generally ranges between 101 and 140, with peak pollution usually observed between January–March and November–December. Mumbai is among the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) non-attainment cities, and funds from NCAP and the 15th Finance Commission have been utilised for mitigation, awareness campaigns, and information dissemination. The BMC highlighted that PM10 levels in Mumbai have significantly declined since 2017 due to these measures.
