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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court on Monday while hearing a suo moto PIL concerning air pollution in Mumbai remarked that if one roams in the city of Mumbai, one can observe many violations of air pollution norms.

The observation was made by the high court emphasizing that the policy makers and experts are fulfilling their duties however there is a lack of implementation to curb air pollution in Mumbai. 

“A lot depends on your pollution audit. Mr Advocate General, we feel that at least for the Bombay Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) you need to have a statutory commission. For the court, it becomes very difficult. The constitution should be such that experts, administrators, activists etc are included. What we find is, that experts and policymakers are doing a good job but it’s the implementation that causes pain. BMC’s report should have been implemented. It is very common knowledge that if you roam around in Mumbai you can find so many violations. Once you carry your own report and see,” the court said.

The division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Devendra K Upadhyaya and Justice Girish Kulkarni was hearing the suo moto Public Interest Litigation in light of the poor air condition in Mumbai.

Earlier, the high court had ordered a joint inspection of the 7 major public project sites by MCGM and MPCB. Following the inspection, both the authorities were asked to prepare a roadmap for curbing air pollution. 

Advocate General Birendra Saraf, representing the State Government, informed the high court that a coordination committee (MCGM & MPCB) meeting was conducted on March 1 under the chairmanship of the BMC commissioner.

He added that directions were issued under the Environment Protection Act of 1986 to municipal commissioners, corporations, municipal councils, the transport commissioner, and the Mumbai traffic police for monitoring air pollution.

The AG submitted that additional staff was required for the environmental audit. It was submitted according to the Central Government Guidelines, industries were categorized into red, orange, green, and white.

Therefore, he assured the court that the Maharashtra State Pollution Board would initiate the audit of red-category industries until an additional 1310 staff are sanctioned by the State Government.

The high court also directed the state government to decide on the appointment of additional staff at the earliest.

The bench noted that in light of the announced parliamentary elections, if necessary, appropriate permission can be sought from the Election Commission for the appointment of additional staff, considering the broader public interest and human cause.

Senior Advocate Darius Kambatta, amicus curiae, pointed out that another report given by experts from IIT Bombay and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) suggests source apportionment as a long-term measure to reduce air pollution.

The high court had earlier formed an expert committee comprising an expert from IIT Bombay, the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), and the Principal Secretary of the State Government.

The high court has now asked the expert committee to provide its opinion on the aspect related to source apportionment of air pollution on the next date.

The high court will now hear the suo moto PIL on June 20 at 3:30 PM.

Case title: High Court on its own motion