The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday said that Mumbai’s air quality has shown significant improvement over the past two days, thanks to several measures taken to control pollution across the city and its suburbs.
According to Mumbai civic body, these measures include strict action against private construction sites and government projects that fail to follow pollution-control guidelines. Notices have already been issued to a number of sites, and the BMC has said that action will continue.
BMC Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani has instructed all departments to ensure that the 28-point pollution-control guidelines, issued on October 15, 2024, are fully followed. He also clarified that the Graded Response Action Plan Stage-4 (GRAP-4) is not currently applicable to Mumbai, but monitoring of pollution sources will continue.
Under the guidance of Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr Ashwini Joshi, the BMC has been carrying out various steps such as converting bakeries and crematoriums to cleaner fuel, using misting machines to control dust, washing roads, and running special cleanliness drives. Public awareness campaigns are also ongoing.
A total of 94 flying squads have been deployed across all municipal wards to inspect construction and government projects, ensure that dust-control systems are working, and check sensor-based AQI monitoring devices at sites. Gagrani added that the Mumbai Port Authority has responded positively to instructions to stop outdoor bonfires in its area.
Officials said that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Mumbai has been improving steadily since November 26, 2025. Wind speeds, which were low earlier in the week at 3-4 kmph, have now increased to 10–18 kmph, helping to disperse pollutants.
The BMC has appealed to all construction sites to follow guidelines strictly, to bakeries to complete their shift to cleaner fuel as soon as possible, and to citizens to avoid burning waste in the open.
What is GRAP-4?
Graded Response Action Plan Stage-4 (GRAP-4) is the highest-level emergency measure implemented to tackle severe-plus air pollution in major Indian cities. When air quality becomes extremely hazardous, GRAP-4 introduces strict restrictions such as a complete ban on construction and demolition activities (except essential work), halting entry of polluting trucks, stopping industrial operations that generate emissions, shutting stone crushers and brick kilns, and encouraging work-from-home to cut traffic. It is activated only when the Air Quality Index (AQI) crosses the most dangerous threshold and is meant as a last-resort response to protect public health.
