MUMBAI | THANE: A day after the BMC issued stop-work notices to 45 construction sites in Borivli East and 33 construction sites, including Metro 3 work, in Byculla as part of restrictions under GRAP-4 on Tuesday, the R-Central ward issued similar notices to an additional 33 construction sites in Borivali East and to another 33 construction sites in Byculla in E Ward on Wednesday.
Similarly, the TMC issued show-cause notices to 39 construction sites for allegedly flouting dust pollution control mandates. Panvel City Municipal Corporation, too, served notices to 164 builders for violating pollution norms.
Meanwhile, BMC’s commissioner Bhushan Gagrani on Wednesday directed the administration to continue restrictions imposed on construction projects in the Byculla (E Ward) till the time air pollution is not brought under control.
Gagrani said a particular project will not be allowed to start coonstruction immediately, even if it has adhered to all air pollution mitigation guidelines and measures. Of the 33 notices issued by the E ward, 25 are to BMC and other govt sites while eight belong to private agencies.
The BMC imposed stringent measures to control pollution due to the deteriorating air quality. After halting construction activity in Borivli and Byculla, Gagrani paid a surprise visit to construction sites to gauge the situation on the ground on Wednesday.
Gagrani inspected two private construction projects in Saat Rasta, besides the Metro 3 project in Mumbai Central and an SRA project near Joseph Baptista Garden in Mazgaon, among other sites. Gagrani also visited a SAFAR weather monitoring station.
TMC had issued a set of guidelines to be followed by developers undertaking construction works at around 297 sites. Of these, just 31 sites were found to be complying by the norms while around 151 showed inadequacies following which they were penalised and asked to ensure compliance within a set period. However, 39 sites that completely failed to abide by norms were warned of forcefully stopping construction work.
Panvel civic body has also decided to serve notices to bakeries and restaurants to curb pollution.
