The Bombay High Court on Friday came down heavily on municipal authorities for failing to act on its directives to curb air pollution in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, warning that the salaries of civic commissioners could be halted for their continued non-compliance.
A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Sandeep V. Marne (corrected: Justice Suman Shyam as per original content) expressed sharp disapproval of what it called a “belligerent disregard” for repeated court orders aimed at improving the city’s air quality. The bench warned the commissioners of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) that failure to act would invite consequences.
“We will stop the salaries of the commissioners. Take this as a warning,” the court said, adding, “You are not living in some alien world. We are all breathing the same air.”
The BMC, represented by senior counsel S U Kamdar, informed the bench that it had issued stop-work notices to several construction sites and installed air quality monitors at nearly 400 out of 600 required locations. But the court was not satisfied.
“What were you doing all these years? It is not the court’s job to run the municipal corporation,” the bench remarked, noting that such action was only triggered by judicial intervention.
The court directed the BMC to submit detailed data from air quality monitoring sensors for a three-month period prior to November 2025, making it clear that it wanted the actual numbers, not vague affidavits.
The High Court also criticized the affidavits submitted by both BMC and NMMC for lacking ward-wise breakdowns and failing to reflect genuine intent.
“There seems to be no genuine and sincere effort on the part of the authorities to address air pollution,” the bench observed.
The High Court had in 2023 taken suo motu cognisance of the rising air pollution levels in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and issued a series of directions to civic bodies and state authorities. The matter has since been monitored periodically.
Despite this, worsening AQI levels in Mumbai and surrounding cities have prompted the court to escalate its scrutiny, especially in light of the health hazards posed by prolonged exposure to toxic air.
The matter is now listed for further hearing on January 27, with the court expected to review the compliance data and affidavits afresh.
