Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Jan 23: The Bombay High Court on Friday stopped the salary of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) commissioner Kailash Shinde for breaching court orders and failing to file a personal affidavit, instead allowing a city engineer to submit it.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Suman Shyam passed the order during the hearing of a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on worsening air quality in Mumbai and adjoining areas, directing Shinde not to draw his salary until further orders.

The court also came down heavily on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for its alleged inaction in tackling air pollution. Pulling up BMC commissioner Bharat Gograni, the Chief Justice remarked that effective steps were taken only after court intervention. “What have you been doing for the last six months? The status report itself shows you were not doing anything before this court passed orders,” the bench observed, warning that coercive action, including stopping salaries, could be considered.

On December 24 last year, the high court had already cautioned civic chiefs of strict action for lapses in implementing pollution control measures. Following the court’s directions, the BMC issued stop-work notices to 106 construction sites where sensor-based air quality monitors were not installed. The civic body informed the court that over 800 show-cause notices had also been issued.

However, the bench maintained that enforcing laws was the civic body’s responsibility and not dependent on court monitoring. When BMC counsel senior advocate S U Kamdar stated that construction activities contributed only nine per cent to air pollution, the Chief Justice questioned the civic body’s assessment, pointing out that it failed to identify the remaining causes.

Senior advocate Darius Khambatta, appearing as amicus curiae, highlighted that dust from roads combined with construction work was being ignored and noted the absence of ward-specific plans to combat air pollution across Mumbai’s 24 wards. The court was also informed that air quality index (AQI) levels had crossed 200–300 in some areas on the day of the Mumbai Marathon.

Rejecting objections raised by the BMC on AQI data, the Chief Justice remarked that civic officials too were breathing the same air as citizens. The bench directed the civic bodies to place detailed data up to September on record and come back with concrete, workable solutions, stressing the need for accountability and proactive governance.