Mumbai: Survey initiated in Juhu after mid-day exposes pollution norm flouters

In the wake of an exposeacute by midday and a followup letter from residents of Gulmohar Road the K West ward office of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC on Thursday conducted a survey to crack down on developers who flout air pollution mitigation guidelines in JuhuDetails of investigationBased on a whistleblowerrsquos information midday had visited three spots in Juhu to check if developers had complied with stopwork notices issued by the BMC Despite the warnings several construction activities were continuing unabated A letter dated February 29 from the K West ward office to MHADA authorities revealed that three projects in the area had been issued stopwork notices and eight showcause notices for failing to adhere to pollution guidelines midday visited the sites on Saturday March 2 only to discover that work was still in progress This reporter then posed as a potential buyer to investigate the matter The sting operation confirmed the developersrsquo noncompliance with directivesResidentsrsquo letterMeanwhile on March 6 the residents of Gulmohar Road approached the assistant municipal commissioner handing him a letter demanding he take stringent action against errant developers The letter also called for an investigation into ongoing redevelopment projects to ensure compliance with regulations stringent measures to compel these projects to adhere to proper cleaning practices including the use of water where necessary the implementation of immediate steps to mitigate dust pollution on the pathway to Kaifi Azmi Park and longterm solutions to address air quality concerns caused by construction activities in the areaThe aftermathPrithviraj Chauhan assistant municipal commissioner K West ward said ldquoOur team conducted a survey of developers flouting the pollution guidelines in Juhu on March 7 Originally 11 sites were issued notices for flouting guidelinesThe number will increase shortly after the survey is completed Stringent action will be taken against the sites which are found to violate the air pollution mitigation guidelines The permissiongiving authority of many of the sites in this area is MHADA We had requested them to take stringent action against developers flouting air pollution guidelines via a letter dated February 29rdquoldquoThe survey aims to enforce strict adherence to environmental regulations and ensure the protection of the local ecosystem and residentsrsquo wellbeingrdquo said an official Another official involved in the survey stated ldquoWe visited the Gulmohar Road along with some other locations to identify developers flouting pollution guidelines We will serve notices to some more errant developersrdquoA security guard present at a construction site on Gulmohar Road said ldquoOfficials visited the locality around noon I saw them visiting four other sites whose entrances are visible from the place where I am stationedrdquo A Juhu resident said ldquoCivic officials visited many underconstruction and redevelopment sites to check whether air pollution guidelines are being followed The fact that BMC has started the survey is very reassuring and we hope that construction sites violating air pollution mitigation guidelines will be dealt with legally by the ward officerdquoMar 2Day midday visited sites