MUMBAI (Metro Rail & Steel): The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken stringent action by issuing a stop-work notice to the casting yard of Metro Line 2B situated at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) for its failure to comply with air pollution mitigation guidelines. The notice, directed at the contractor Kumar Infraprojects by BMC’s H-East ward, not only ordered an immediate cessation of work but also cautioned about the possibility of filing a First Information Report (FIR) if the specified air pollution guidelines were not strictly adhered to. Earlier this month, the same contractor had received a similar stop-work notice for Metro 3 works at BKC.
The BMC had explicitly directed officials at the site to ensure compliance with air pollution mitigation guidelines following the formulation of new regulations by the civic body. However, despite warnings and intimations, officials allegedly continued to disregard these guidelines. Upon inspection by BMC’s additional municipal commissioner Sudhakar Shinde and H-East ward officer Swapnaja Shirsagar on Wednesday, it was found that the contractor was indeed flouting the stipulated guidelines. Consequently, the BMC ward issued a stop-work notice to the site, effectively halting operations.
Records indicate that as of Tuesday, the BMC had issued a total of 463 stop-work notices to multiple sites where pollution guidelines were being disregarded despite prior communication. Notably, within a 24-hour span between November 20 and 21, 120 out of the 463 notices were served. Among the guidelines for pollution mitigation at construction sites include erecting a tin sheet barricade of 25 feet height, enclosing it with a green cloth, jute sheet, or tarpaulin, and sprinkling water on debris or soil prone to generating particulate matter.
