The rapid pace of urban development and real estate growth in Pune is exacting a heavy toll on the city's air quality, creating a severe public health concern. Unchecked construction activities are a primary contributor to the deteriorating atmosphere, prompting the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to initiate emergency damage control measures.
The Scale of the Problem: Construction Boom and Its Fallout
Following the inclusion of 23 new villages, the PMC's jurisdiction has expanded to a vast 480 square kilometers. Within this area, the civic body approves approximately 3,200 new buildings each year, predominantly multi-storey residential complexes. This construction frenzy generates a staggering 200 metric tonnes of construction waste and debris every single day.
Despite existing rules mandating measures like water sprinkling to settle dust, barricading sites, and using covered vehicles for waste transport, compliance is low. The lack of manpower for effective monitoring has allowed pollution from construction dust to become a pervasive issue.
PMC's Multi-Pronged Strategy for Damage Control
In a significant move to tackle the crisis, the PMC has partnered with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM). A key initiative involves real-time monitoring of air quality at major construction sites. “It is being made mandatory to install air pollution sensors at construction sites with a 20,000 square metre area to check pollution due to dust particles,” stated Ashwini Yadav from the PMC’s environment department.
Once the sensors are manufactured and finalized, the data will be tracked live on a dashboard at the civic headquarters. This will enable the PMC to serve notices to developers if pollution levels become serious, forcing them to enhance mitigation measures. The civic body aims to monitor at least 80 percent of construction sites through this system.
To manage the immense volume of waste, the PMC has set up a processing plant in Wagholi with a capacity to treat 250 metric tonnes of waste per day. Furthermore, an additional plant with a 200 metric tonne per day capacity is being launched in the southwestern part of the city.
Beyond Construction: A Holistic Fight for Cleaner Air
The PMC's efforts extend beyond just construction waste. To discourage private vehicles, the civic body is strengthening public transport through the ongoing Pune Metro project and by adding 1,000 new electric buses to the PMPML fleet. “The electric buses will increase the capacity of transporting citizens and is also the best solution to reduce pollution arising from the use of petrol vehicles,” remarked city MP and Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol.
Other notable steps include promoting electric vehicles by creating 82 charging stations, penalizing open waste burning, and transforming crematoriums to use environment-friendly fuels under the National Clean Air Program (NCAP). The PMC is also engaging with the city's approximately 600 bakeries to encourage a shift to cleaner fuels.
According to the city's Environment Status Report (ESR), Pune's air quality was satisfactory for only half of the previous year, with 174 days of moderate air quality and 3 days of poor air quality, highlighting the urgent need for these comprehensive interventions.
