Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday questioned the Maharashtra government, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) over their inability to curb rising air pollution in the city. It asked whether there was a solution to the rising air pollution of would the citizens have to continue seeing the “haze”.

A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Girish Kulkarni remarked that all the authorities are aware of the problems and the reasons behind the depleting Air Quality index (AQI) in the city, and emphasised that there was a need to take immediate measures.

The HC, in 2023, had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the issue of poor air quality index in the city and state.

The judges Remarked that each year the situation is the same after Diwali. “What is the solution in such situation? All this starts every year after Diwali. Broadly we know the problems and the causes so now what is the solution? Or do we continue to see this haze every year all over Mumbai. There is such low visibility on some days,” the bench said.

The court remarked that in 2023, it had directed that the fire crackers be burst only between 8pm and 10pm during Diwali, however, it was burst beyond 1am. “The implementing agencies did not follow our orders at all,” it said.

The court expressed dismay over failure on the part of the authorities to take proactive steps. Only when court passes orders, something is done. Everyone is affected. Unless something drastic is done the situation wont come under control,” the bench underlined.

The judges underscored that the majority of pollution is caused by construction activity in the city and did not appreciate the stand taken by the BMC that a choice has to be made between development and clean air. “We don’t appreciate stand taken by BMC. It has to be sustainable development,” the judges said.

However, BMC counsel Milind Sathe said that they cannot stop development but are ”taking mitigating action”.

The court emphasised that the steps taken by the authorities had not helped abate the situation. When the BMC counsel suggested that they had taken steps, hence the situation had not worsened like that in Delhi, the bench quipped: “Whatever steps you and MPCB have taken, has not abated the situation. It’s still yellow dots. You need to take some more measures. When will pollution levels come down? Bombay has a locational advantage and Delhi has a locational disadvantage. You can’t compare the two.”

Apart from the construction dust, the bench noted that the pollution has increased due to increasing number of vehicles and also city bakeries using wood and coal to make their products. It asked the State and the BMC to ensure that the bakeries switch to clean fuels. Also, the vehicle owners should be encouraged to use CNG or electric vehicles instead of traditional fuels.

The court also expresses dissatisfaction over the failure on the State’s part to appoint 1,310 staff for MPCB, despite its order last March. The same delayed the audit of industries in the red category in and around the city. Of the 7268 industries in the red category alone, the MPCB has managed to audit only 1,154 industries in red category.

State Advocate General Birendra Saraf assured the bench that necessary steps will be taken expeditiously to fill the vacancies.

State advocate Jyoti Chavan informed the bench that it has given warning notices to 133 industries and action was taken against 117 industries in red categories. Overall it has taken action against 985 polluting industries and forfeited bank guarantees worth Rs 5.85 core. The bench said it would pass a detailed order directing the authorities to take certain measures to address the issue.