Mumbai: In 10 months, BMC has received 410 pollution-related complaints on Mumbai Air, the app it launched in Feb following an HC order to allow citizens to flag foul air and its potential causes. While 348 of them have been addressed, sources said 36 are in the process of being resolved. The remaining complaints do not fall under BMC’s jurisdiction.
A majority of the complaints lodged between Feb 6 and Dec 18 are from S ward, followed by A, K-West, T and P-North (see box). About half of them are related to dust, while the rest include malodour and smoke. S ward, which includes Vikhroli and Bhandup, also has the highest number of resolutions (83). It’s followed by A ward, which includes Colaba, Cuffe Parade, Nariman Point, Churchgate, and Fort, with 41 complaints resolved, and K-West, whose all 28 complaints have been addressed.
“Once a complaint is registered in the app, the environment department intimates it to the ward concerned. The ward carries out the follow-up action and the complaint is resolved. However, some of the complaints may not have been resolved due to shortage of staffers as they were busy with [Lok Sabha and assembly] election work,” said a BMC official.
Sumaira Abdulali, convener of Awaaz Foundation and member of Mumbai Clean Air Action Hub, a collective of environmental organisations, said, “A majority of Mumbaikars are unaware that they can file complaints. The app has not been effectively promoted among citizens. The first step should be a mass awareness campaign. Partnering with citizen groups and organisations at the ward level could help achieve this.”
