Mumbai, Jan 20 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said it was not impressed or satisfied with the air quality index (AQI) at “moderate” level in the metropolis and said it would examine the issue of air pollution here on January 23.
The court had three years ago taken suo motu (on its own) cognizance of the deteriorating AQI in the financial capital and has from time to time urged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to take measures to tackle the problem.
On Tuesday, a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam sought to know what was the air quality index currently in the city.
Senior counsel S U Kamdar, appearing for the BMC, said AQI was moderate in the range of 100 to 140.
Visibly unimpressed by the AQI figure, the court remarked, “We are not satisfied with moderate.” Kamdar submitted that the corporation has taken steps to mitigate the air pollution situation and submitted an affidavit.
The court said it would examine the issue on Friday.
The corporation said it has undertaken “focused follow-up inspections and enforcement action” at construction sites across Mumbai.
Submitting a comparative chart of AQI levels for the last four years, the BMC said Mumbai follows a consistent seasonal pattern, with higher pollution levels during winter months and lower during the monsoon.
The civic body claimed that compared to 2023, the AQI improved by 22 per cent in 2024 and by 26 per cent in 2025.
As per the affidavit, in the last two months, the BMC has issued 408 show-cause and 284 stop-work notices for non-compliance of anti-pollution norms.
Of the 1,954 ongoing construction sites in the metropolis, 662 were issued stop-work notices for failing to install sensor-based air quality monitors within the prescribed deadline, it said.
Notably, the AQI, which has 6 categories, is a tool for assessing air quality. It indicates how clean or polluted air is. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution. PTI SP RSY
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