Air Quality Index of Mumbai
Context:
- The public expenses of the city municipal corporation’s numerous pollution-related omissions are substantial.
Introduction:
- Mumbai citizens’ exposure to pollution has increased for the second year in a row as the southwest monsoon retreats from the city. The city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) score from November to January of last year was poor or extremely poor on the majority of those days.
Index of Air Quality:
- The AQI is divided into six categories: “Very Poor” (300-400), “Good” (0-50), “Satisfactory” (50-100), “Moderately polluted” (100-200), “Poor” (200-300), and “Severe” (400-500).
The Mumbai case:
- For the majority of this month, residents in the nation’s financial centre have been suffering from poor air quality. The benefits of the seaside city’s natural purification appear to have been overshadowed by unfavourable weather patterns brought on by climate change.
- However, as a number of articles in this publication have demonstrated, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city’s municipality, should bear a significant portion of the guilt. Five causes of pollution are identified in the agency’s Pollution Mitigation Plan, which was published in March. These sources include road dust, construction debris, open burning of solid waste, usage of dirty fuel in restaurants, and industrial emissions.
BMC’s reaction to the document:
- However, the municipality has, at best, responded sporadically and belatedly to its own findings. Although the agency has published its Standard Operating Procedure on October 21, which outlines steps to reduce dust pollution, it has not yet come up with a solution for Mumbai’s persistent waste management issue.
- Residential buildings and gated societies are the only locations where the BMC’s trash segregation system is used. It omits the slum areas of the city, where the majority of people burn rubbish made primarily of paper, plastic, rubber, and polythene. The air becomes poisonous when fine particles released by combustion are inhaled.
- Garbage burning is prohibited by BMC rules, however the municipality’s enforcement strategy is far from ideal. The township has not committed enough funds to raising public knowledge of appropriate trash management.
The finances and management of BMC:
- With a budget of Rs 52,600 crore, the BMC is financially larger than many states in the nation. However, a plethora of evidence points to this wealthy municipality’s mismanagement of its resources.
- The BMC was found to have “severe systemic problems, poor planning, and careless use of funds” in a March CAG assessment. “Lack of transparency and probity in the execution of works taken up at a significant cost” was the reason the agency was criticised. There are consequences to public health from the municipality’s numerous pollution-related omissions.
Way Forward:
- In actuality, the warning signs have been going off for the past seven years or more. Since 2016, there has been a rise in the incidence of respiratory deaths in Mumbai, including lung cancer and COPD. Poor air quality exposure for schoolchildren is another urgent concern. The BMC must get its act together and prioritise the welfare of its citizens.
