MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has written to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, urging the civic body to immediately halt all construction activity in the city for a week as Mumbai remains engulfed in severe smog for the past three days.
In his two-page letter, Thackeray said the “obnoxious levels of pollution” were a hassle for citizens. “No city in the world can attract visitors, investment or even keep its own citizens healthy with such pollution. I urge you to halt all private construction activity for a week,” said Thackeray. He urged the civic body to introduce a ward-wise construction time schedule to meet clean air goals.
BMC sources, however, said that the spike in air pollution was partly due to the surge in redevelopment and infrastructure projects. They pointed out that redevelopment had received a major push during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by the then undivided Shiv Sena which had offered incentives to builders.
The city’s air quality remained in the moderate category with AQI at 121 on Sunday as per data from the 25 to 30 monitoring centres across the city. The highest AQI levels were reported from the Bandra Kurla Complex at 166 and Deonar at 157, both falling in the upper band of the moderate range and nearing the “poor” threshold. In contrast, Borivali East recorded the lowest AQI at 61, while Mulund West stood at 71, reflecting comparatively cleaner air in the city’s northern belt.
Thackeray also raised concerns over the alleged felling of 45,000 mangroves, noting that this was happening less than a week after Mumbai Climate Week where state government and BMC made “tall claims” and signed MoUs about sustainability. Aaditya wrote that infrastructure projects could be redesigned to go underground which would save a majority of mangroves.
He also criticised the proposal for compensatory afforestation in Chandrapur. “The compensatory afforestation is a joke, since the BMC says it will do it in Chandrapur. Meanwhile, the tiger reserve and a wildlife sanctuary is being environmentally plundered in Chandrapur for mines,” he wrote.
The Sena (UBT) leader further asked that the Back Garden in Colaba be protected. “It seems that apparently the BMC is under pressure from the Speaker (BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar) and his relatives to convert a mud playground into a concrete jungle with controlled access. This will not be allowed by Mumbaikars,” he said. Thackeray urged the BMC to let the playground be as it is and conduct a citywide audit of playgrounds that have allegedly been converted into commercial turfs with controlled access, calling such changes a violation of civic norms. “It is against the norms and policy of the BMC and is an outright violation,” he wrote in his letter.
Thackeray also opposed the plans to convert the Mahalaxmi Racecourse into a car park with underground construction. “We have seen the urban development minister (Eknath Shinde) proposal to convert the Mahalaxmi Racecourse into a car park with underground construction. We understand that this will benefit contractors and builders. However, Mumbai is against this. Anybody who believes that the racecourse is not open to the public, and this contractor will do good, lives in a fool’s paradise, and only shows how disconnected they are from Mumbai,” Thackeray wrote.
“The racecourse needs better landscaping, more activities, with a cost that will be borne by the RWITC (Royal Western India Turf Club), not taxpayers,” he said, adding that the underground parking would not be viable during major events due to police security restrictions and pointed out that parking facilities linked to the coastal road project are already available nearby. “This plan to let this land be usurped by contractors and builders will not be allowed by Mumbaikars,” Thackeray stated in the letter.