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Bombay HC slams Maharashtra govt for blaming volcanic ash from Ethiopia for poor air quality in Mumbai

The Bombay High Court has slammed the Maharashtra government for blaming volcanic ash from Ethiopia for the poor air quality in Mumbai. The bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A Ankhad pointed out that the visibility in the financial capital was poor well before the volcanic eruption. The High Court heard a suo motu petition over the rising pollution level in Mumbai and sought an urgent report from the state government. During the hearing, the amicus curiae Darius Khambata said that when the court first took cognisance, the AQI in Mumbai was around 200. Now, we are reading that it is beyond 300, he said. Representing the Maharashtra government, advocate Jyoti Chavan stated that the eruption of the Hayli Gubbi volcano in Ethiopia on November 23 sent a cloud of ash drifting across India. The volcanic ash worsened the air quality in Mumbai and Maharashtra. The incident disrupted flight schedules in several countries, the advocate stated. The Chief Justice interjected, No, no... that was only two days ago. Even before that, we couldn't see beyond 500 metres. He refused to accept the explanation given by the state government for the deteriorating air quality. You tell us what measures are going to be taken, the Chief Justice said. The Court further observed that steps to control pollution had not brought any visible improvement in air quality. As per the air quality parameters, an AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor', and 401-500 'severe'. The Court also directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to take concrete steps to check pollution levels. The BMC has decided to enforce the GRAP IV (Graded Response Action Plan) in case the AQI in certain pockets in Mumbai does not reduce below 300 for three consecutive days. The measure involves closure of construction sites, considered a major contributor to Mumbai's pollution load. The Mazgaon area, Mumbai's industrial hub, witnessed the AQI shooting up twice to 305 -- on November 11 and on November 24. On Thursday, Mumbai's AQI was 198, the highest this month. At least half a dozen AQI stations in the city recorded a reading of 200.