Mumbai recorded 231 days of ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’ air quality between January 1 and October 22 this year, surpassing the 218 such days recorded throughout 2025, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Thursday (October 23, 2026), as it outlined a winter action plan to tackle pollution from construction activities, road dust, vehicles and open burning.
According to the civic body’s data, Mumbai recorded 185 days in the two air quality categories in 2023, which increased to 216 in 2024 and 218 in 2025. The BMC also cited data from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s PRANA portal, which showed that the city’s PM10 concentration declined by approximately 48% between 2017-18 and 2025-26.
With the winter season approaching, the BMC said it has issued its Winter Air Pollution Mitigation and Enforcement Action Plan 2026, focusing on pollution hotspots, construction-site compliance, road dust management, vehicle emissions and open burning.
As part of its enforcement measures, the civic body has deployed 76 ward-level air pollution mitigation squads to conduct random and surprise inspections. Each squad is required to inspect at least two construction sites daily and follow up on compliance at identified pollution hotspots.
Construction sites found violating the BMC’s 28-point pollution mitigation guidelines face show-cause notices, stop-work notices and possible sealing. Enforcement action is supported by site-specific inspection reports, photographs and videographic evidence.
The guidelines require construction sites to install sensor-based air quality monitors, use water sprinklers and anti-smog guns, cover buildings under construction and ensure that construction materials and debris are transported in covered vehicles.
The BMC said 3,166 construction sites have installed sensor-based air quality monitors and integrated them with a central dashboard, allowing civic authorities to monitor pollution readings.
The guidelines also mandate barricading around construction sites, with minimum heights ranging from 25 to 35 feet depending on the size of the project. Developers and contractors must prevent dust from escaping construction premises and ensure that vehicle tyres are cleaned before vehicles enter public roads.
To control road dust, the BMC said it is undertaking deep-cleaning operations alongside routine sweeping, using 29 multipurpose vehicles. Developers and contractors have also been directed to clean adjoining roads depending on the size of their construction sites.
The civic body has made the Mumbai Debris Control and Tracking System (MDCTS) mandatory for project proponents, developers and other planning authorities, including SRA, MHADA, MIDC and MMRDA. The platform tracks construction and demolition waste from its generation to authorised recycling facilities.
Checks are also being conducted on ready-mix concrete vehicles, while action against visibly polluting vehicles is being coordinated with the Mumbai Traffic Police.
The BMC has additionally identified bakeries as a source of particulate emissions, estimating their contribution at approximately 3.5% of Mumbai’s PM emissions.
Of the city’s 593 bakeries, 209 were already operating on cleaner fuels, while another 175 have converted, the civic body said. It added that 69 bakeries are undergoing conversion, 87 remain non-compliant and eight have shut down. New licences and permissions are being granted only after compliance with mandatory green-fuel requirements is verified.
The civic body is also in the process of installing air pollution control devices at 10 crematoria to reduce emissions.
Separately, surveillance is being maintained at identified open-burning hotspots, with enforcement action against those responsible. The BMC’s guidelines prohibit open burning across its jurisdiction, including at garbage dumping grounds and other locations prone to waste burning.
The civic body said it is also issuing public awareness messages on air and noise pollution caused by firecrackers. It reiterated that firecrackers are not permitted on public streets, roads, lanes, footpaths and in silence zones.
Published – October 23, 2026 05:58 am IST
