• Source:JND

The Bombay High Court on Friday issued a stern warning to civic commissioners of both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai over the city’s deteriorating air quality. Hearing a petition on the worsening Air Quality Index (AQI), the court cautioned the chief of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation that it may withhold salaries of officials who fail to take effective measures to maintain clean air.

According to a NDTV report, the court also issued a warning to the commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), India’s richest municipal body, over the city’s worsening air quality.

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Bombay HC Slams Officials, Threatens Action Over Inaction On Worsening Air Quality

Hearing a petition over the deteriorating Air Quality Index (AQI), a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam warned the chief commissioners of the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation that it may withhold salaries of officials who did not comply with the court orders and failed to take effective measures to maintain clean air.

The court's stern warning was prompted by what it described as a “belligerent disregard” of its previous orders to control air pollution. “You are breathing the same toxic air as the citizens; this is not some alien world,” NDTV quoted the bench as saying.

In 2023, the Bombay High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the city’s rising air pollution, directing civic bodies and other authorities to take action to curb it. BMC lawyer SU Kamdar on Friday told the court that stop-work notices had been issued at several construction sites and that air quality monitors had been installed at 400 of the 600 sites where they were required.

However, the high court did not like the submission, noting that these anti-pollution measures were taken only after the court’s orders, rather than proactive steps to safeguard public health.

"What were you doing all these years? We are not here to take stock of the situation every time. It is not the court's job to run the municipal corporation," the high court said.

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The Bombay High Court sought a detailed report on air quality monitoring, including daily sensor data for three months prior to November 2025. "We want the numbers. That will tell the true story," the high court added.

It also noted that the affidavits filed by both Mumbai and Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) lacked ward-wide details, suggesting a lack of genuine and sincere efforts by the civic bodies and authorities to tackle the city’s pollution problem.


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