What Steps Are Taken To Curb Air Pollution Via Traffic? Bombay HC To Govt, Traffic Authorities

The Maharashtra government and state traffic management authorities have been ordered by the Bombay High Court (HC) to submit details regarding the steps they have taken to put the expert committee's recommendations for lowering air pollution in the city into practice.

On October 31, 2023, the court voiced worry over the "deteriorating" air quality index (AQI) and took suo motu (on its own) notice of the city's increasing air pollution. A number of petitions bringing attention to the problem were also filed.

An expert in the subject of environment, specifically air pollution, an expert on air pollution from IIT, and a retired principal secretary made up the committee that the HC constituted in November of last year. The committee had turned in its report with recommendations for mitigating air pollution. Amicus curiae, or friend of the court, Darius Khambatta brought up the necessity to put the traffic expert committee's recommendations into practice at last week's session.

One of the proposals pertaining to traffic was to request that the relevant planning authorities investigate the possibility of tolls without barriers along the same lines as the Atal Setu. The report stated that it is possible to check the tender conditions of the toll operators concerning the maximum amount of traffic at the tolls that is exempt from paying the toll. Give MMRDA instructions on how to put this recommendation into practice.

It also recommended "implementing suitable steps for addressing the issue" after identifying "points of traffic congestion" in Mumbai City and MMR.

On June 20, a bench made up of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Girish Kulkarni said, the court, thus, call upon the authorities responsible for traffic management to file an affidavit giving details of the action taken to implement the said recommendations. Later on Monday night, the order was released in full to the official HC website.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) was requested by the High Court to inspect every industry in the state in March, beginning with those classified as red.

MPCB filed a thorough statement declaring that during the previous three months, it had finished auditing 191 industries in the red category.

The MPCB announced in March that it was short-staffed and that it would be hiring 1,310 people; however, the government must approve the request. The court was notified last week that the government is still handling the case. According to state lawyer Jyoti Pawar, the government would probably make a final judgement on the proposed legislation in less than a month.

Given that the MPCB's staffing shortage is hampering the steps for taking up various measures for mitigating the air pollution; conducting pollution audit is only one of such measures, the HC has requested that the government make a decision within a month.

The case has been continued for a second hearing on July 26 by the HC.