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Air Pollution Crisis: HC Threatens to Withhold Salaries of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai Chiefs
The Bombay High Court has taken a tough stance on the rising air pollution in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. The court warned officials that their salaries will be withheld if air quality doesn't improve. Reprimanding the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Chief and the BMC Commissioner, the court stated that they are ignoring orders to reduce pollution.
Air pollution in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai is on the rise, and air quality is deteriorating further in these areas. The Bombay High Court has taken a tough line on air pollution in Mumbai and has warned bureaucrats that their salaries will not be paid if they fail to act on this issue.
The High Court cautioned Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's Chief that unless measures are taken to ensure that the quality of air remains reasonable and clean, their salaries would be withheld. This comment was made by the High Court during a hearing of a petition regarding low-quality air.
The court also censured the commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which happens to be the richest municipal corporation in the country, over air quality-related issues. The warning to civic officials was in response to blatant violations of the court's orders to curb air pollution. The court stated that they, too, were breathing the same polluted air and did not live in a different world.
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A bench comprising Chief Justice Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam announced that they would withhold the salaries of the civic commissioners of both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai for failing to comply with court orders and taking action to address the worsening Air Quality Index (AQI).
In 2023, the court had taken suo motu cognizance of the rising air pollution and directed municipal bodies and other officials to take steps to reduce air pollution.
BMC lawyer SU Kamdar told the court that the municipal body had issued stoppage notices to several construction sites and that the devices had been installed at 400 of the 600 sites where air quality monitors were required.
However, the High Court did not like this argument and said that all these pollution control measures were taken only after the court's order. The court said, "What were you doing all these years? We are not here to assess the situation every time. It is not the court's job to run the municipal corporation. We need numbers. That will tell the true story."
