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FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
SECTION A
The main findings of the present study in the first section are related to the air quality over
different locations in Greater Mumbai region and the vehicular growth taking place in the three
transport zones of MCGM.
The findings of the study undertaken are discussed below:-
For almost all the years taken into consideration for the ambient air quality at select locations in
different parts of Mumbai, some striking features were observed.
1. a) Annual average concentration values of SO2 were found to be within limits for all
sites, though marginally higher values were observed at Bhandup, Maravali, Andheri and
Khar.
With respect to annual average NO2 levels, it was found that in Worli the NO2 level
exceeded the CPCB limit once during the year 2008-09, and after that continued to drop
until 2011.
In general, it can be seen that the average annual concentration values of NO2 levels have
been found to be increasing and have exceeded the CPCB standards since the year 2003-
2004 for all sites, except Borivali.
b) SPM level was found to have exceeded the CPCB standards at all the sites. Maravali
and Khar sites are found to be heavily polluted.Maravali site which already indicated the
highest SPM value in the year 1999-2001, showed a significant increase in the
consequent years.In the year 2010-11, Maravali possessed SPM values which were
almost six times that of Borivali and thrice that of the other monitoring stations.
Maravali, an industrial zone lies in the Eastern suburb is located close to Chembur. The
fact that it is an industrial area and is also located in the vicinity of Chembur, which itself
is home to some of Mumbai’s most environmentally hazardous factories and industrial
plants, is proof enough for its status as the most polluted area for almost more than a
decade. The presence of the sprawling Chembur - Dharavi slum area, with its various
small manufacturing units and the prevailing unhygienic conditions because of the piling
heaps of garbage, and open-burning is also another important factor responsible for the
high pollutant load experienced in Maravali.
Andheri and Tilaknagar generally have some of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the city
and therefore possess highest levels of NOx and SPM values.Here it should be also noted
that Andheri possesses maximum population distribution in the study region.
2. a) The RSPM values were obtained from the NEERI office, Mumbai for select years with
respect to Parel, Worli and Kalbadevi. The Khar Monitoring Laboratory has only recently
begun monitoring RSPM values for the monitoring stations and therefore RSPM related
data was unavailable for the remaining sites. For all the three sites it was observed that
the values dropped during the year 2004, remained almost constant for the next two years
and then again rose during the year 2009, after which it again declined during the year
2010.
This sudden spurt during the year 2009 and the sudden decline during the year 2010
appeared to be a perplexing finding. The rise can be attributed to population growth,
various other human activities, apart from the increasing vehicular population, but the
sudden decline by almost 50% is difficult to justify. Though, some kind of error cannot
be overlooked.
b) The three monitoring sites chosen by NEERI represented one industrial activity zone,
Parel, a commercial activities zone, Kalbadevi and a residential activity zone, Worli.
Though the zones have been classified as commercial, residential and industrial, it is
common knowledge that in Mumbai city one does not find any region which is purely
and solely based on a single land-use pattern. Places such as Parel which were earlier
basically industrial in nature, have transformed into an overlap of commercial as well as
residential area.
Similarly, Kalbadevi and Worli which are selected as commercial and residential zones
respectively again face a similar problem as both places do not conform entirely to the
assigned zone. The evolution of the urbanization process in Mumbai has been such that
residential as well as commercial zones overlap. Though the selected sites in the study
region with respect to the activity zone have been specified for convenience purpose,
each zone will always have mixed activities.
The average values of Particulate Matter exceeded the CPCB standards in commercial
and residential areas while SO2 and NO2 concentrations were within the CPCB limits.
The levels of pollutants in residential, commercial and industrial zones were more or less
the same.
A discussion with the scientists at the NEERI centre also revealed that the assigned
zones of industrial, commercial and residential regions in Mumbai cannot be strictly
allotted the specified National Ambient Air Quality Standards put forth by the CPCB due
to the overlapping of various land-uses.
c) The percentage of violation of NAAQS (24 hourly average) for RSPM as well as SPM
for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 at the industrial site of Parel depicted much lower
values as compared to the other two sites, of Kalbadevi and Worli assigned as residential
sites. Personal observations have led to conclude that loading, unloading and transfer of
textiles (kalbadevi also serves as a wholesale market for various goods such as textiles,
etc.) and other materials in the busy lanes of Kalbadevi and the Crawford market in close
vicinity, which remains crowded with shops, hawkers and customers throughout the day
may be an important factor for the higher RSPM and SPM levels consequently leading to
violation of the NAAQS for RSPM and SPM.
The violation of NAAQS with respect to SO2 and NO2 revealed that both these
parameters were well within the standards specified by the CPCB and that the violation
was insignificant at all three monitoring sites of Worli, Parel and Kalbadevi. The main
reasons for this situation could be because of shifting of most of the industries from
Mumbai region that began in the early 90s itself. Another reason could also be that
population density being high atKalbadevi contributes to the increasing emission load of
RSPM and SPM.
Kalbadevi, which as earlier mentioned is the focal region where most of the commercial
activities take place, especially the wholesale market for textiles, electronic goods, etc.
The residential area at Kalbadevi is easily over-shadowed by the existing trading units in
the lanes and by-lanes of Kalbadevi that are perpetually crowded and congested. Road
dust arising due to loading and unloading of goods on the streets, apart from the vehicular
exhaust in this region is probably an important source of Suspended Particulate Matter as
well as Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter.
The residential siteWorli, too shows almost equally high levels of both RSPM as well as
SPM. Here too, it may be noted that though Worli is not an industrial area, the causes of
high levels of RSPM as well as SPM may be attributed to the open eateries, bakeries,
open refuse burning, construction activities, road dust as well as vehicular exhaust arising
out of the constant and sluggish moving vehicles. The construction work of the Bandra –
Worli Sea Link that was going on for some time can also be considered as a reason for
the high levels of Particulate Matter.
The reason for reduction of NO2 levels may be attributed to improvement in
infrastructure such as concretization and widening of roads, flyovers, subways, control
and synchronization of traffic signals, improvement in traffic movement to some extent
that leads to reduction in idling of vehicles, strict implementation of PUC (Pollution
under Check) norms for vehicles and use of ultra-modern technology in new vehicles
may have led to reduction in auto-exhaust gases emissions. (ESR BMC, 1999-2000)
d) The CPCB as well as MPCB have reported a decline in emission load with respect to
both these parameters mainly due to shifting out of the previously existing industries.
Though Chembur and nearby areas in the Eastern Suburbs still have some of the polluting
industries such as the Chemical and Fertilizer industries, etc, the immediate effect of the
pollutant load is to some extent offset by the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM)
initiatives adopted especially by the RCF industries; as well as by the absorption
scrubbers utilized by the other industries in the vicinity, inorder to curb air pollution.
3. a) Levels of the various criteria air pollutants are generally found to be low during
summer and monsoons and high during winter and post monsoon seasons. The
phenomena of seasonal fluctuation is attributed to meteorological conditions, such as
predominant wind directions, turbulence and frequency of inversion, rains, etc. this has
multiple effects, dispersion of pollutants is rapid due to high turbulence and washing
down of pollutants due to rains. On the other hand accumulation of air pollutants occurs
due to frequency of inversion and stable conditions in the winter. (ESR Report, BMC
2008)
The configuration of Mumbai is such that industries are located in the north/north-eastern
part. The predominant wind direction is south/south-west during monsoons and
north/north-east in winter. Stable atmospheric condition and predominant wind direction
during winters cause high pollution levels in Mumbai.
b) Another very important factor that influences the air turbulence and thus the air quality
is the coastal location of Mumbai. The land and sea breezes have a profound impact on
the concentration levels of the various air pollutants at different locations at different
times of the year. The impact can be understood in the light of observations made in the
comparative study of number of vehicles on road in Mumbai and in Delhi. Delhi with
slightly fewer vehicles-on-road, experiences a higher concentration level of air pollutants
largely due to its geographical location.
4. a) The major sources of pollution in Mumbai can be categorized as industrial, transport
and domestic. It is observed that total emission load decreased marginally as compared to
the previous year. There is a decrease that is observed in the emission load of transport
sector. However, increase in the number of vehicles on the road results in traffic
bottlenecks at several places ultimately results in increase in emission load.
In this context it may be pointed out that a study undertaken by URBAIR (1991) had
reported a 50% increase in annual average concentration of Total Suspended Particulate
(TSP) from 180µg/m3 to 270 µg/m3 between the years 1981 to 1990. During the same
period concentration of Nitrogen oxides had increased by 25%, while there had been a
visible reduction in the annual average concentration levels of SO2. It should be noted
here that the Environment Status Report of Brihan-Mumbai (1999-2000) had stated in its
findings that that TSP sources are mainly re-suspension from road caused by vehicles,
emissions from diesel and gasoline vehicles, domestic wood and refuse-burning. With
burning of firewood out of question in Mumbai city, the only sources of Total Suspended
Matter seem to be vehicular exhaust, roadside re-suspension and open refuse burning.
5. Since 1991, Mumbai has seen a negative growth in industrial development. The city has
more concentration of commercial and other tertiary activities. This indicates that apart
from other area sources such as hotels, bakeries, open eateries, crematoria, etc that are
responsible, the transport network, plays a major role in the decline in quality of air in
Mumbai, with an ever-increasing number of commuters who travel from the suburbs to
the island city. Incidentally, Kalbadevi, the old CBD lies in South Mumbai, that is in the
island city. The historical CBD that is the Fort Region as well as the modern corporate
CBD, Nariman Point too, lies in southern part of the island city. Though, the new
BandraKurla Complex is an upcoming focal point in Mumbai, the commuters travelling
to south Mumbai and back is much higher as compared to the other destinations. This has
grossly increased the traffic congestion on this route. Consequently the vehicular traffic
and pollution both, on this sector are very high during peak hours.
6. In the past, the CPCB as well as NEERI in their respective findings have concluded that
the air quality decline seems to be more pertinent in the suburbs than in the island city.
This theory holds true, as it can be seen that the vehicular population growth rate is found
to be maximum in the Western Transport zone. This zone with places like Bandra,
wherein the overall population as well as the slum population is increasing. The Airport
and D.N.Nagar region too, along with the slum areas of Dharavi in the neighbourhood,
and the associated and combined impacts of various anthropogenic activities, including
the small manufacturing units, increasing traffic and the never-ending construction, other
commercial activities; andrepair works are serving as major factors in the multiplied
effect of rising air pollution in the respective area.
7. Though, as pointed out by CPCB the high load contribution does not necessarily lead to
high ambient contribution of a particular source at the receptor site since emission
distribution in atmosphere depends upon multitude of factors such as local meteorology,
location, season, height of release, atmospheric removal processes and diurnal variation.
Another very important and fortunate factor with respect to Mumbai is due to its peninsular
as well as coastal location. The ventilating effects due to its maritime location may prevent
the excessive pile-up of the polluting parameters over the city.
It may be noted that in this work the local impact of daily land and sea breezes are not taken
into consideration while analyzing the air quality findings. It can definitely be considered as
a base for further study.
8. The findings related to the vehicular growth and the emission load of the city are stated
below:
The percentage share of emission load in Mumbai for the period 2008 to 2010 revealed that
the petrol-run vehicles (53%) contributed the maximum share of pollutants, followed by
diesel-run vehicles (11%), industrial (4%), domestic (30%) and refuse burning (2%).
(MCGM, 2011)
a) The emission values of Particulate Matter due to vehicular exhaust are much higher than
what they are for the emissions from industrial sources. The Carbon Monoxide (CO)
emission values for the transport sector are almost half of what they are for the other area
sources. The SO2 emissions are dominated by the industrial sources. NOx values are also
lower as compared to with the industrial sources, but the rail transport accounts for a
major share of NOx emissions. Hydro-carbons (HC) are, again, an important source of air
pollution as far as the transport sector is concerned. In comparison to the industrial
sources of HC, the vehicular exhaust accounts for six times the values obtained for
industrial locations. Though, other sources such as bakeries, crematoria, restaurants, open
landfill burning, etc. account for major share of HC emissions.
b) From the NEERI report, 2010 also it can be inferred that unpaved road dust, too,
contributes in a major way to the release of Particulate Matter. Despite the state of
urbanization and the economic advancement of the metropolitan city, it may be noted that
the construction activity, repairs and maintenance works as well as dumping of Municipal
Solid Waste on the nooks and corners of the streets is an unending issue. The constant
repair and maintenance work of roads that goes on almost throughout the year is a major
factor that cannot be ignored.
This therefore implies that in the current scenario the cause for maximum emission of
Particulate Matter in the atmosphere with respect to Mumbai can be attributed to
transport sector as well as sources such as paved and unpaved road dust.As pointed out
by the Environment Status Report, Brihan-Mumbai (2010-11) the emission load of
Mumbai (2008-2011) indicated maximum contribution by Petrol-run vehicles (53%),
followed by diesel-run vehicles (11%), industrial (4%), domestic (30%) and refuse
burning (2%).
9. Data obtained from the Motor Transport Statistics (2009-10) revealed that the vehicular
population growth is constantly increasing. It was found that the Western Transport zone
of Mumbai consisting of Bandra, D.N.Nagar, Wakola, Airport, Saki Naka, Goregaon,
Malad, Kandivali and Borivali revealed a much higher rate of growth in vehicular
population as compared to the Eastern and Western Transport zone.Various studies have
pointed out that usage of diesel leads to a larger load of harmful pollutants being emitted
into the atmosphere. Therefore, an effort to explore the ownership of diesel-run vehicles
and the pollutant load over Mumbai was made.
10. It was found that the percentage of petrol run vehicles is much more substantial than that
compared to vehicles that run on diesel. It was seen that for all three years, i.e., 2008,
2010 and 2011, the percentage share of diesel and petrol-run vehicles have remained
almost the same, with diesel-run vehicles having a range between 18 to 20% of the total
number of vehicles; and the percentage share of petrol-run vehicles ranging between 73
to 82% in the three transport zones of the study region. Another finding was that most of
the diesel run vehicles were found to be present in the Western Transport zone.
From the data obtained from the NEERI report (2010) for the emission load for Mumbai
from all sources, it was noticed that among the area sources, the maximum share of the
pollutant load came from landfill open burning, followed by construction activities and
bakeries. Amongst the industrial sources, emissions from power plants take the maximum
share.
The transport and the road network which constitutes the line source of emissions
revealed that unpaved and paved road dust contributed significantly to the emission of
Particulate Matter. This was followed by Heavy Motor Vehicles (HMV) that contributes
to a major share of the pollutant load.
11. Another important finding from various studies is that vehicles using diesel as a fuel
contribute to a very high emission load of most of the parameters of pollutants. Diesel
cars emit 20 times more Particulate Matter, 7 times more SO2 and thrice the amount of
NOx than petrol-run cars.
Thus, Line Source of vehicles comprising of road transport turns out to be the main
contributor of Particulate Matter. The railways are significant contributors of Nitrogen
Dioxide in Mumbai.The air transport is an important causative factor releasing Carbon
Monoxide and Oxides of Nitrogen. Marine transport has a very negligible influence on
the pollutant load of the city.
While considering the vehicular growth for 1961-2011 it is evident that the growth
pattern is following an upward trend. The increase has become more prominent since
1991 after which the rate of growth in the vehicular population became more pronounced.
The Western Transport zone of Mumbai consisting of Bandra, D.N.Nagar, Wakola,
Airport, Saki Naka, Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali and Borivali reveals a significantly
higher growth rate of registration of vehicles as compared to the other two zones. An
analysis of the percentage growth of vehicles reflected that the western as well as eastern
transport zones are experiencing a marginal decline, while the Central Transport zone
experienced a fluctuating trend.
12. An analysis of the percentage growth of vehicles in Greater Mumbai that used various
sources as fuel during the period 2008-2011, showed that the proportion of diesel
vehicles to the total have remained more or less the same, without any significant
increase or decrease. Though, the maximum share of diesel-run vehicles was found to be
present in the Western Transport zone. The analysis also reflected a slight drop in the
percentage growth of petrol-run vehicles and a corresponding marginal rise in the
proportion of CNG vehicles.
In this study an emphasis on the proportion of diesel-run vehicles is made as various
studies have pointed to increasingly harmful pollutants being emitted with diesel being
used as a fuel to run vehicles.
The meso-level (city and suburbs) analysis reflected that the Western Transport zone of
Mumbai showed a constant increase in the percentage growth of diesel run vehicles in all the
three years that are taken into consideration.
There is an increase in the year 2010 for the Central Transport zone as compared to the year
2008. But it is interesting to note that values for the year 2011 show a decline by about 2%. It
is seen that Central Transport zone which consists of Colaba, Kalbadevi, Tardeo, Pydhonie,
Wadala as well as Byculla, Worli, Bhoiwada and Nagpada constitute the regions (particularly
Worli and Kalbadevi) which according to the NEERI observations have a high emission load
of air pollutants; except forParel, which has a comparatively better level of air quality. Thus
the finding that Parel has lower values of the pollutant load could be attributed tothe decline
in the vehicular population in this zone apart from themajor decline in the industrial activity
since the mid-nineties, when the textile mills shut down and moved to neighbouring states,
especially Gujarat. Thus, all these facts including the finding that points to a decline in the
number of diesel run vehicles in the Central transport zone could be the reason for a
comparatively better air quality in the Parel region.
13. Lastly, the superimposition of the air quality findings for the air monitoring stations on
the three different transport zones indicates that:
a. Khar and Andheri, which are found to be highly polluted with respect to air quality,
lie in the western transport zone. At the same time it has been found that the total
vehicular population is found to be highest in the Western Transport zone followed
by the Central Transport Zone. It is interesting to note that Borivali which also lies in
the Western Transport Zone is the least polluted. The Borivali region encloses a
notified National Park, and therefore the population as well as number of vehicles is
very less as compared to other regions of Mumbai. The absence of industries and
presence of a large stretch of natural vegetation in Borivali also explains the
comparative purity of air in the region.
b. Kalbadevi and Worli lie in the Central transport zone. Kalbadevi and Worli have
higher values of SPM as well as RSPM, and coincidently also have the maximum
number of vehicles using diesel as fuel. Kalbadevi is one of the busiest areas of South
Mumbai. At the same time, Worli lies on the path which is traversed by the south as
well north-bound traffic. The road from Haji Ali towards Worliand back experiences
traffic blockades very often, thus having very sluggishly moving traffic which is also
responsible for adding vehicular exhaust to the region.
c. On the other hand the Eastern Transport region comprises of Maravali and Bhandup
air monitoring stations. The total number of vehicles registered in the Eastern region
is least as compared to the other two regions. But the air quality at Maravali is very
bad. For all the years for which the data was available and study undertaken, Maravali
has been found to be the most polluted of all the stations monitored for air quality.
Other factors that seem to influence the air quality at Maravali, are its proximity to
Chembur as well as to Deonar,the largest Municipal Solid Waste dumping ground.
Maravali as well as Chembur being industrial zones are host to a lot of
environmentally hazardous industries.
d. The presence of Deonar dumping ground in the vicinity is an important source of air
pollutants, as the process of dumping garbage, open landfill burning;etc causes an
added load of Particulate Matter. The Environment Status Report of Brihan-Mumbai
(1999-2000; 2010-11), too has revealed that air quality at Deonar dumping ground
exceeds the permissible limit as specified by the CPCB. The NOx and RSPM levels
at the Deonar Dumping Ground are about 140µg/m3 and 350 respectively (ESR
MCGM, 2010-11).
e. Another study has also pointed out that in the Chembur/ Maravali area, the main
problem is the uncontrolled release of ammonia and nitrous oxides from the Rashtriya
Chemical Fertiliser complex. Although ammonia is easy to scrub, the problem seems
to be due to improper operation of pollution control equipment and/or operation of
the urea/ammonia complex.
f. The existence of various industries in the region, and the Deonar Dumping ground in
the vicinity has made things worse for Chembur, which has also often been referred
to as a ‘Gas Chamber’ by environmentalists and researchers. As mentioned earlier,
Chembur is an area where a cluster of sensitive installations like oil refineries,
BARC, a fertilizer plant and naval ammunition depot are located. All this apart from
the traffic congestion experienced almost throughout the day in this area worsens
things, especially the quality of air in this region.
In this context it is worth noting the observation made by Sharma and Pundir (2008) that, with
the increase in economic activities the number of transport is increasing in restricted areas of
metropolitan cities. This increases the transport emission load of Indian cities. The introduction
of vehicles with stricter emission control may decrease the overall emissions, but the vehicle
population growth rate might neutralize that impact in overall emissions.
SECTION B
In this section an attempt is made to understand issues related to the problem of solid waste
management in Greater Mumbai. For this purpose, the population data has been taken into
account assuming that as population increases, there is an increase in the amount of solid waste
generated.
This enormous increase in solid waste causes excessive burden on the existing capacities of the
civic administration for the collection, transfer and disposal of all the solid waste, thus rendering
it ineffective. This study attempts to explore the spatial and temporal variations in generation of
solid waste in different geographical locations of Greater Mumbai, apart from trying to
understand issues related to the management of solid wastes.
1. According to the Solid Waste Management department of MCGM, the expenditure borne
by them for collection of waste and its disposal has been constantly increasing which
implies that since the waste generated is increasing every year, they have to enhance and
upgrade their facilities of providing effective waste management techniques.
Since in this study, the main causative aspect for the increase in generation of solid waste
is considered to be population growth in the study region, the observations with respect to
the growth of population for selected years point to a decreasing trend in the distribution
as well as the growth rate of population in the island city. The period between the years
1981-2011 reflects a major decline in the island city.
2. With respect to suburbs, the population distribution shows an upward trend but the
growth rate reveals a decline. In the suburbs too, the population growth during the period
2001-2011 shows an encouraging picture with a growth rate of 9% only, as compared to
the 26.7% for the previous decade. Thus, it implies that though the growth rates have
significantly declined in the suburbs, they still continue to remain high compared to the
island city, which experienced a growth rate of -5.75% only.
It was found that the population of the Island city of Greater Mumbai is relatively
stabilised. Thegross density of the Western and Eastern Suburbs has registered a three-
fold increase from 1971 to 2001, while thegross density of Greater Mumbai has doubled
during the same period (Census Data of India, 2011).
3. For the year 2011, only the total figures for the suburban region and the island city are
available. Ward-wise data is still not released by the Census Department; therefore the
ward level analysis for the year 2011 was not possible.
In the suburbs it is observed that the western suburbs (wards H, K, P & R) have more
population than that residing in eastern suburbs (wards L, M, N, S & T). Gross density of
Greater Mumbai is found to be 27,715 persons per sq. km. in 2001. With respect to the
island city, the highest density of 107,723 is found in 'C' ward. Maximum population is
found in K/E ward, i.e., Andheri East.
The provisional figures for the population density as published by the Census
Department, Government of India, point to a significant decline in the population density
for Mumbai city during the year 2011, in comparison to 2001. The density values for the
suburbs indicate a slight increase in the number of persons per square kilometre between
the years 2001 to 2011.
Thus, it should be noted that the population density is only marginally lesser than what it
is in the island city. This is implicative of the fact that the impact of population and
human activities on the local environment of the respective regions will be almost similar
all throughout the Greater Mumbai region.
4. The Percentage Decadal Variation in Population from 1901-2011 reveals aninteresting
picture. In the pre-independence era the Mumbai city as well as the suburban region
shows a marginal decrease initially until the year 1921.
During the 1920s which is generally considered a watershed period for the population
distribution in the entire country also shows its impact in the Greater Mumbai region,
when the population in the entire region experienced a drastic fall, but picked up
momentum during the following two decades. In the 1970s the tendency for a decline in
the growth of population in the city region and a corresponding increase in the suburban
region became a common feature until the present. This aspect has been referred to as an
era of ‘suburbanization’ by some researchers in contemporary studies. Though, it may be
seen that despite an increase in population growth in the suburbs in comparison to that of
the city region, the overall picture represents a gradual decline in the growth rate of the
suburban regions too.
5. It is for the first time in the demographic history of Greater Mumbai that the city
experienced a maximum negative decadal growth of population (-5.75%) during the past
decade. An encouraging scenario is also visible with respect to the suburban region,
wherein, the growth is represented by a single digit value of + 8.01% after a gap of nine
decades.
6. Findings of the study at ward level
Ward-wise population of Greater Mumbai for the years 1991 and 2001 is available but
the ward level data for 2011 is still not published by the Census Department of India.
Therefore ward level analysis for population was done for the years 1991 and 2001
only.Looking at the figures for the years 1991 and 2001 it is seen that the same wards
have experienced maximum population distribution in both the years. In the island city, F
and G wards (constituting Matunga, Dadar and Elphinstone) continue to have maximum
population concentration in the island city.
On the other hand, in the western suburbs, K/E, K/W and P/N (constituting Andheri East
as well as West; and Malad) population was higher in comparison to the other wards of
the western suburbs in the years, 1991 as well as 2001.
In the Eastern suburbs Kurla and Bhandup (L and S Wards) follow a similar pattern,
wherein both these wards continue to be the most populated in 1991 as well as 2001.
7. The overall trend for the amount of solid waste generated, if considered from the year
1966-67 up to the year 2011-12, shows a more than four-fold increase. For the
corresponding time-frame, the population growth indicates a three-fold increase.
A comparison of the decadal growth of Solid Waste and that of Population, for the period
1961 to 2011 was arrived at and the picture that arises is interesting to note. It can be seen
that the decadal growth of population seems to be on a constant decline. At the same
time, the decadal growth of solid waste too is constantly decreasing, though the amount is
still quite substantial.
There is a more than three-fold increase in the quantity of solid waste generated in
Greater Mumbai region between the period 1971 and 2011 but the decadal growth reveals
an increase from about 3% in 1971 to 41% in 2011. During the same time-frame,
population has doubled, but the decadal growth of population dropped from 43.8% in
1971 to 4.4% in 2011.
During the year 2001, a negative growth in the percentage of decadal growth was
observed which seems out of place and difficult to analyze. There does not seem any
valid justification for the sudden drop by 65% and then followed by a sudden spurt of a
55% increase in the year 2011. In all probability there could be some error in the values
obtained from the SWM Cell of MCGM for the year 2001.
8. A very important observation in this aspect is that the rate of growth of solid wastes does
not seem to be directly influenced by the population growth. The decadal growth of
population indicates a significant decline. On the other hand the decadal growth of solid
waste in parts of Mumbai reveals a considerable increase. Thus it can be deduced that it
is not only the population factor that is responsible for the problem of increasing amount
of garbage in the city but other influencing factors such as the land use pattern and
employment scenario in different geographical locations in the city and suburbs could be
playing a dominant role too.
Thus, data for employment at a ward level in Greater Mumbai was obtained from the
Chief Planning Division of MMRDA. The employment data at a ward level was available
only for the years 1990 and 1998. Therefore the available data is considered for getting a
basic representative idea about the employment profile of Greater Mumbai, so that it can
reflect the daily floating population which could be an important contributor to the
existence of the growth in solid waste in the city.The data thus obtained sheds light on the
employment profile of Mumbai at ward level.
9. It can be seen that percentage growth rate in employment for the island city is highest.
Ward A experienced almost six times the increase in the growth rate for employment as
compared to the overall growth rate for Greater Mumbai. For the corresponding period a
major decline in the percentage growth rate of employment was seen in case of the
Eastern suburbs.The overall picture indicates a predominant increase in employment
level in the island city followed by a marginal increase in the western suburbs and a
decline in the eastern suburbs. This indicates that a major flow of population could be
headed towards the island city and the rest towards the western suburbs.
10. The 1991-92 figures for the quantity of solid waste generated annually reveal that the city
as well as western suburbs has almost the same amount of solid waste generated; while
the eastern suburban region generates only 25% of the waste in comparison to the other
two administrative divisions.
In the year 2011-12 too, it is clearly evident that the quantity of solid waste generated
continues to remain significantly high in both the island city as well as in the western
suburbs. Moreover both these regions contribute to an almost equal amount of solid
waste. On the other hand it was observed that the share of the total amount of solid waste
during the same period in the Eastern suburbs has been fast increasing. The figures for
the solid waste generated in the Eastern suburbs doubled in the year 2011-12 in
comparison to that during 1991-92.
The amount of solid waste generated in the city has generally increased overtime ( Table ) and at
present it is nearly four times (confirm) as much as in the mid-sixties. However, there was a
decrease between 1974 and 1976, between 1981-1985; and between 1991and 2001. All these
sudden drops are difficult to comprehend and hence, if one assumes that data may be incomplete
or faulty and smoothens the curve, one finds a steady increase over time (figure ). This is to be
expected in the light of the increase of population and concentration of activities. However, when
compared to the rate of growth of population the amount of solid waste generated has increased
more rapidly after 1978.
The concentration index for the city region grew from 1.4 to 1.6 from 1991 to 2011. The values
for the concentration index of solid waste are indicative of the fact that the increasing amount of
solid waste cannot be attributed to population growth alone. Since the generation of solid waste
is the result also of concentration of activities; an attempt is made to get an insight into spatial
variations in this aspect. The areas of concentration of activities are indicated by the employment
profile in different wards. Thus, the employment profile at a ward level was also considered.
Discussions of Ward level analysis of solid waste generation vis-à-vis employment profile
The employment scene in the island city shows maximum growth rate of employment in A- ward
followed by D- ward, it being 5.7% and 2.03% respectively. The spatial variation for the
corresponding wards with respect to percentage of total quantity of solid waste generated is
about 4.2% and 4.7% for A and D ward respectively. The A- ward comprises Colaba and D-
ward corresponds to Grant Road.
Colaba, lying at the southern extreme of the island city is more of a commercial region, known
for its cafes, restaurants and retail showrooms and footpath shops, and has also become the
cultural hub of the city, especially for South Mumbai. It is also known for its shopping area,
clubbed with administrative offices, with quite a few schools, colleges, national galleries and
museums, other places of tourist attraction in the form of heritage buildings and monuments; and
basically extends towards the naval command region.
All these factors have contributed to a higher employment growth rate in this ward, though the
population growth rate in this ward is much lesser as compared to the other wards such a D, E, F
and G wards of the island city. The reason for less amount of solid waste being generated in this
region could be due to people’s awareness to segregate waste before disposing it off and also
probably because of efficient cleaning process taken up by the BMC workers as it serves as an
important destination for national as well as foreign officials, dignitaries and tourists.
On the other hand, D ward (Grant Road) is dominated by various business and commercial
activities, small road-side eateries, apart from the existence of the local vegetable, fruit, fish and
meat market, which attracts a lot of local citizens. It remains generally crowded throughout the
year, and the rate of generation of municipal solid waste is probably much faster than the rate at
which the garbage is sorted out, collected and transported from this region. This could also be
due to the fact that the Grant Road streets remains congested through most of daytime until late
evening, thus making transportation of garbage by the large vehicles twice daily, a rather
difficult task, though the BMC has made it compulsory for the contractors to collect garbage
twice a day from all collection points.
In the Eastern suburbs, the data points to a higher population growth rate in M and L wards in
2001. M and L-wards correspond to Chembur and Kurla respectively. Chembur is followed by
Kurla in terms of population in the year 2001. With respect to the employment growth rate in the
eastern suburbs, the M and L wards experienced a growth rate of 0.28% and -3.8% respectively.
In this scenario, the picture reveals that a slight drop is observed in the employment growth in
the eastern suburb, but the increasing population and the associated and existing land use pattern
are directly responsible for the increasing amount of garbage.
It is a known fact that Chembur houses many chemical and fertilizers plants, refineries and
reactors. Several other studies too have pointed out that Chembur has been facing pollution
problems and recently it was even ranked 46th in a list of the most polluted industrial clusters in
India. (Verma, 2009)
The proximity of the Deonar dumping ground, in close vicinity to Chembur has caused health
issues to people residing in Chembur. Thus, it can be said that Chembur has got a problem of
high generation of municipal solid waste not only due to the excessive population but also due to
the existence of a large number of environmentally-hazardous industries located in and around
Chembur. This finding is supported by various other studies which have pointed out that
Chembur also has found high levels of toxic chemicals in ground water. Effluents from the oil
refineries, fertilizer plants and reactor located in Chembur are also said to have polluted sea
water in Thane creek affected marine life.
On the other hand, the western suburbs experienced a marginal increase in the growth of
employment opportunities between the years from 1990 to 1998. The increase is very prominent
in the H and R- Ward. The H ward which constitutes Bandra, Khar and Santacruz; and the R
ward which constitutes regions of Kandivali, Dahisar and Borivali are apparently providing more
employment opportunities in the geographical area of the western suburbs. Bandra has become
the focal point of the commercial and business hub in the new CBD that Bandra - Kurla
Complex offers. The growth in the employment in the R ward can be attributed to the growing
population in the suburban region due to which a rise in the number of educational institutions,
shopping malls, banking and other financial institutions is being witnessed. The growth of these
places with respect to employment opportunities should also be seen in the context of them being
accessible due to the local train routes passing through these regions, apart from the growing
importance of Bandra as a new commercial hub; and near saturation of activities in the island
city. In addition to this the presence of the airport at Santacruz and the existing slum area of
Dharavi in close vicinity display high densities of population in the region on a regular basis. It is
pointed out once again that the generation of solid waste is very high in the over-populated and
congested slum areas which are not diligently attended to by the BMC workers for the purpose of
waste collection and transfer of garbage.Personal visit and observation in the slum area of
Dharavi helped draw this conclusion.
Another very important finding is with respect to the observation that can be made from the
spatial variation calculated for percentage of the annual generation of solid waste at ward level
for the years 1991-92 and 2011-12 indicate significantly higher amounts of generation for the H
and R wards in the Western suburbs. Therefore, it can be concluded that better employment
opportunities in the H and R wards can be directly responsible for the generation of large
quantities of solid wastes in these wards. An increase in the employment opportunities naturally
implies a higher standard of living and a high-end lifestyle for many people, who tend to become
more and more consumerist in their day to day approach. But since we have most people still
ignorant about civic sense and duties and more-so about the ill-effects of leaving a large carbon
footprint, apart from the inability of the civic authorities who are rendered inefficient in
managing the tremendous rate at which garbage is being generated. The inefficiency seems to
arise from the fact that the number of persons employed and vehicles involved for the process of
collection and disposal is lagging behind.
Another important reason is also the fact that though, according to the SWM Department of
MCGM, the vehicles used in collection and transportation of the garbage need to make two trips
per day on the same route, the traffic congestion on the Mumbai streets makes this task
impossible.
A recent article in the national daily Hindustan Times (1st November 2012) also revealed that the
contractors engaged in collecting garbage from various parts of the city have cited a shortage of
vehicles meant for garbage-collection.Even the Solid Waste Department of MCGM has
confessed that the dumping grounds of Mulund and Deonar have very clearly outlived their
lifespan and are proving insufficient for accommodating and handling the ever-increasing
amount of garbage. Another article in a National daily, Times of India, 21st October, 2012,
specified the observations made in an official report submitted by the Maharashtra Pollution
Control Board (MPCB) that the Kanjurmarg dumping ground did not follow the norms of the
Municipal Solid Wastes Rules, 2000. The report pointed out that the solid waste disposed at the
site was not segregated and machines used to segregate bio-degradable and non-biodegradable
waste were lying unused. The waste was also being dumped at the site without proper soil cover
(10 cms of soil) that helps contain the stench.
This reveals the inadequacy on the part of contractors to collect and dispose off the garbage in a
mandatory manner. Thus, despite appropriate government policies and available facilities, such
as bio reactors, composting facilities, etc., these are not being made use of to the fullest of their
capacity and at times even lie unused. According to another report submitted by the Maharashtra
Pollution Control Board, the contractors associated with the Solid Waste Department of
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai have cited several ‘constraints’ in the process of
collection of waste; while the most important reason cited is shortage of collection vehicles.
Thus, it can be concluded that increasing solid waste generation in different locations in Greater
Mumbai is not solely influenced by the resident population distribution, as can be seen in case of
the island city. The island city has shown a sharp decline of -05.75% in the decadal growth of
population growth. But the percentage of the total quantity of solid waste generated in the island
city was found to be almost 40% which is equivalent to the amount generated in the western
suburbs.
Though one geographical area has experienced negative population growth and the other has
continued to experience population growth, both areas continue to produce an equal amount of
solid waste. The reason for this appears to be the existence of most government offices and other
institutes located in south Mumbai, where people travel to work from their actual places of
domicile. This working population, apart from the domestic and international tourists;
government officials from within and outside the country are mostly found to be visiting South
Mumbai daily for work or leisure. This floating population could be the main reason for the
increasing share of wastes in the entire Greater Mumbai region.
Also, presently Bandra-Kurla Complex in the western suburbs has assumed importance as the
new CBD of Greater Mumbai caters to a vast category of working population. The eastern
suburb in which Chembur takes the lead in population growth as well as solid waste generation is
not a recent episode. The already existing industries in the Chembur- Maravali belt provide
employment to the residents and acts as a pull factor.
Another very important thing that cannot be overlooked is the fact that at present more
construction related work is underway in the eastern suburbs, which is a major source of
construction debris in the respective region. With land prices sky-rocketing in the southern
Mumbai region/ island city, the next option for the residents to build houses for residential
purpose is to own a piece of land in the suburbs where the land is still cheaper as compared to
that in the island city and even in the western suburbs.
Thus it can be seen that the population expansion that is taking place at the fringes of the city is
also responsible for the growing generation of solid waste in that region. On the other hand, the
higher share of the island city in the total garbage generated than its proportionate share in total
population is because the island city, being a major employment centre, gets a large proportion
of floating population in the day time. The existence of the large wholesale market at Crawford,
Kalbadevi and the adjoining lane of Mohammad Ali Road draws a lot of customers from within
and outside the city.Byculla and Grant Road, which are found to be generating maximum amount
of municipal solid waste are also located in close proximity to the old CBD of Fort and
Kalbadevi. At the same time, the C – ward (Marine Lines) has been found to possess highest
population density in the city region. All such factors justify and explain the amount of solid
waste generated in the city, which is equivalent to about 40% of the waste generated in the city
as a whole.
The findings of this study can be corroborated by comparing it to a study undertaken by
Mahadevia D. and Pharate B. (2005). According to Mahadevia and Pharate there is higher share
of the island city in the total garbage generated than its proportionate share in total population
because, the island city, being a major employment centre, gets a large proportion of floating
population, in the day time.
It should also be noted that the 2001 Census of India suggests that the total employment in
Mumbai is 44.64 lakhs, of which 41% are in secondary sector and 58% are in tertiary sector
(Govt. of Maharashtra, 2007). Most of the industries in Mumbai are located in eastern and north-
eastern corridor with a few in the western region. Therefore, there is no clear distinction between
residential, commercial and industrial zones for the city. Industrial areas are further being
converted into residential complexes, leading to a boom in construction activity, mainly in the
suburbs. For instance, most textile mills have closed down in recent years giving way to
residential and commercial complexes. The land use pattern in the city has undergone major
changes in recent years with the conversion of industrial areas into residential and commercial
complexes. (World Bank, 2005)
The findings of this study regarding the increasing amount of construction debris in the eastern
suburb corroborates the report of the Metropolitan City of Greater Mumbai (MCGM),
2004according to which there is a much higher generation of debris in the eastern suburbs
followed by the western suburbs and then in the island city. High rate of new constructions in the
suburbs, both eastern and western could be the cause for the high level of debris generation in
these areas. The reason for this is the comparatively cheaper land prices in the eastern suburb as
compared to those in the city and western suburban region.
Discussion regarding validation of the hypothesis
The findings of the present study considered in the context of the hypothesis put forth in Chapter
I indicate:
1. The study has partially validated the first hypothesis regarding air quality decline in
Mumbai due to vehicular exhaust. The maximum levels of the various parameters of air
pollution are found in Khar and Andheri, that lie in the western transport zone, and which
also has the maximum vehicular population in the entire region undertaken for the
purpose of study. The western suburbs also possess the maximum number of vehicles that
use diesel as fuel. Due to the absence of any major industries in this sector, the most
important cause of high emission can be attributed largely to the vehicular population.
The population data obtained also sheds light on the fact that Andheri has a larger
population which indicates a consequent increase in the anthropogenic activities.
The study is considered to have partially validated the first hypothesis asMaravaliwhich
is the most polluted region in the entire study area lies in the Eastern Transport zone. But
the vehicular population is least in this zone and therefore, the prevailing air quality in
this zone cannot be attributed to vehicular exhaust. The existence of various
environmentally- hazardous industries and factories; apart from the presence of the
largest dumping ground, Deonar in close vicinity actually seem to be responsible for the
worst scenario in the entire study area, with respect to air quality.
The central transport zone indicated a smaller percentage share of vehicle registrations as
compared to the western zone. But the air monitoring stations reveal high emission load
of RSPM and SPM in the central zone. From the data available for the three sites (Parel,
Kalbadevi and Worli),Kalbadeviand Worlihave significantly higher share of SPM and
RSPM respectively, whose percentages of violation clearly exceed the National Ambient
Air Quality Standards. (RSPM levels were available only for these three sites in the entire
Greater Mumbai region).
South Mumbai is basically a commercial and administrative centre. Kalbadevi as well as
Nariman Point are important converging points for local as well as foreign citizens. Apart
from this, the old CBD at Fort continues to remain an administrative and commercial
centre. A lot many offices are located in the south Mumbai region, which cater to large
number of visitors as well as employees. Besides, south Mumbai plays host to a lot of
domestic as well as foreign tourists because of the heritage buildings and other places of
tourist interest located in the region.
Thus, this zone receives a very large number of vehicles, tourists as well as the local
working population on a daily basis. This excessive floating population, along with the
increasing number of vehicles plying daily in the North- South and South-North East
directions, the existence of the local rail network (western, central and harbour line)
which has its starting point in south Mumbai and culminating point in the extreme points
of Eastern and Western suburbs (Vasai-Virar on the Western and Panvel on the eastern
line); in addition to other routine anthropogenic activities reflects the status of the quality
of air in this region. The absence of industries in this region could be the reason for SO2
levels being under control. Source of NO2 in the city has been found to be mainly due to
the rail network by a study undertaken by NEERI in 2010. The starting points and
headquarters for the Central and Western Lines are located in the island city, they being
ChhatrapatiShivaji Terminus and Churchgate respectively. This also explains the vast
number of commuters travelling to and fro from the city.
Moreover, the Eastern Transport zone which roughly coincides with the eastern suburbs
of Greater Mumbai, reveal a different picture. This zone has the least number of vehicles
in comparison to the other two zones, but still has the highest annual average
concentration levels of various almost all the parameters of air pollution. This implies
that only vehicles cannot be considered to be the only important source of air pollution.
It should be noted that open landfill burning of garbage, existence of environmentally
hazardous industries with ineffective or erroneous pollution control measures in place,
besides the other reasons such as construction and repair works that go on almost
throughout the year are a major cause of concern in this region. Various factors such as
traffic congestion in the Chembur area could also be an added reason for air pollution in
this region.
2. Researchers have highlighted the fact that levels of air pollution are increasing at an
alarming in cities as a result of increase in industrial activities and vehicular transport.
However, in Mumbai, levels of SO2 and NO2 emissions have apparently declined since
the early 1990’s, probably due to shifting out of most of the industries or because the
existing laws have to some extent been effective in curbing industrial pollution. However,
the significant increase in the annual average concentration levels SPM levels could be
due to anthropogenic as well as climatic factors. The anthropogenic causes are mainly
vehicular growth, usage of diesel as a fuel (which is considered by many researchers to
be emitting harmful pollutants), construction and infrastructural repair works, paved and
unpaved road dust, open landfill burning, road-side eateries, etc.
While on the other hand, the climatic factor that could be responsible for the significant
increase in the SPM levels especially in the winter months can partly be attributed to the
inversion of temperatures in winter, which prevents dispersal of SPM. The wind direction
in the winter months is North / North-easterly. And it should be noted that most of the
industries in Mumbai are located in the North and North Eastern Region. This could also
trigger the dispersion of the air pollutants towards the southern part of Mumbai, thus
worsening the minor health ailments of the citizens during the months November to
February.
There is no doubt that the seasonal and diurnal winds, due to the coastal location also
play a major influence in the dispersion of the pollutant load of emissions, thus impacting
the actual concentration values of the various parameters of air pollution at various
locations in the study region. This aspect has not been touched upon in this study but it
can be a good topic for future research.
3. The second hypothesis that the increasing amount of solid wastes is mainly due to
increase in population and unplanned process of urbanization also does not hold true in
its entirety.
The overall trend for the amount of solid waste generated, if considered from the year
1966-67 up to the year 2011-12, shows a more than four-fold increase, for a
corresponding threefold increase in population Thus the rate of growth of solid wastes
does not seem to be directly influenced only by population growth.
The values for the concentration index of solid waste are indicative of the fact that the
increasing amount of solid waste cannot be attributed to population growth alone. The
generation of solid waste is not only the result of increasing population density but also
of concentration of activities. In the eastern suburbs too, the population and the existing
land use pattern seem to be directly responsible for the increasing amount of garbage.
4. In addition to air pollution, the other main problem faced in urban areas of the country is
land pollution by way of solid waste generation. This aspect too, has attracted great
attention. Generally the solid waste generation is on the rise in urban areas of the country
in the wake of increasing economic activities and a consumeristic lifestyle. Here it must
be noted that the official figures regarding generation of solid waste are probable
underestimation as a large proportion of population lives in slums, which are
inadequately served in terms of collection facilities. A few are recognized slums to which
municipal services and amenities have been extended; however, waste that is generated
from a number of squatter settlements goes unnoticed and unrecorded by MCGM. The
total burden of waste collection and disposal is probably far greater than that indicated by
the data. The MCGM too has not been able to enforce the MSW Rules 2000.
Although it is mandatory to segregate waste at the household level, this aspect is
neglected by a majority of housing societies. Besides this, since the wards of the city are
as big as any Class I city, the ward offices have very large responsibilities. People are
totally depended upon the civic authorities for cleanliness of their locality and the
citizen’s participation in the process is hardly there. The positive part of this issue is that
quite a few NGOs, along with the MCGM have taken up certain new initiatives in order
to control the waste management problem. Three new initiatives are (i) The Advance
Locality Management (ALM), (ii) the Slum Adoption Programme (SAS) and (iii) the
ParisarVikas Programme by the StreeMuktiSanghatna.
5. An innovative approach in the management is the city’s initiative to RRR, i.e., Reduce,
Reuse and Recycle. Waste is segregated at the source and recyclables are removed at the
source itself to be taken away by rag-pickers, which gives the rag pickers some income.
This has considerably reduced the burden of primary collection, transportation and
disposal of waste which in turn has reduced the MCGM’s expense on the waste disposal
process (Jain 2000). Thus while the doorstep collection has added to the collection cost, it
has been counter balanced by reduction in total waste quantity.
6. In a study of New Practices of Waste Management in Mumbai, Mahadevia (2005) too,
has also pointed out that the experience from Mumbai shows that the city has a long way
to go in Solid Waste Management, despite various initiatives taken up by MCGM in
collaboration with local NGOs. The size of the city is very large and the scale of the new
initiatives does not match of with the size of the city. The heavy downpour and chaotic
situation of July 26, 2005 has shown that the garbage collection has still a long way to go
so that it does not clog the city drains in times of heavy rains and cause of the city areas.
Various health ailments such as malaria, dengue, bronchitis, asthma, etc. have become a
common scene in the city.
Strict enforcement of the MSW Rules, citizen’s adherence to follow rules, better civic sense,
appointment of efficient and trained personnel to work in the process of garbage collection
and disposal, more involvement on the part of NGOs as well as the corporate sector in SWM,
finding appropriate sites for locating new dumping grounds, improved technology for
disposal of garbage, effective public private partnership, etc. can to a large extent impact the
process of Solid Waste Management in a positive manner.
SUMMARY
Introduction
Mumbai, originally an aggregation of seven islands was joined together over a period of about
five centuries by a constant process of reclamation. The transformation of a group of seven small
islands off the shore of coastal Maharashtra into one of the most crowded metropolitan city of
island has been through a lot of major and minor changes.
Greater Mumbai (or Brihan Mumbai), the study area for this work has an area of 437.71 sq km
and includes both the island city and suburbs. The islands are in the form of a peninsula with
Kalbadevi, the former Central Business District (CBD) at the southern extremity. The new CBD,
the Bandra- Kurla complex is at the centre of the city, just north of the Mahim creek on the land
developed through reclamation by Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority
(MMRDA).
The most worrisome aspect of the transformation of the Mumbai region into the country’s most
important economic centre of the country is the current set of irreversible modification it has
undergone due to the various changes that the city has experienced in terms of population
increase, landuse pattern, reclamation process etc. The ever-increasing population due to in-
migration of skilled as well un-skilled manpower from within and outside the state of
Maharashtra has added to the already existing woes of the city.
The environmental stress is increasing as population increases and more people are competing
for the limited resources. This is clearly manifested in the expanse of the slums in Mumbai as
well in the heaps of garbage lying across the city waiting to be collected by the civic authorities
and to be disposed off in a manner which keeps the ecological balance maintained.
Another very important aspect that is responsible for disrupting the ecological balance is the
increasing number of vehicles that are added to Mumbai streets everyday as well as the necessity
of development of infrastructural amenities to cater to the increasing number of vehicles. The
only highways that exist in Mumbai are the Eastern and the Western Highways that run
North/South along the Eastern and Western coasts of the island. The city’s transport system was
modelled after the London Transportation System with the exception of the Underground Metro.
The lack of subway system in Mumbai has been severely detrimental to its transportation-related
problems faced by the city on a daily basis.
Environmental problems such as pollution of land, water, air and noise have increased
considerably. This is a consequence of population explosion, industrialization, urbanization, fast-
changing lifestyle and living patterns, food habits and the culture of over-consumerism, which
has given rise to disposable patterns of solid waste.
Urban waste poses a major problem which the city is unable to cope. According to the Solid
Waste Management Department of the metropolitan city of Greater Mumbai, the amount of
waste generated in the city is approximately 8000 MT per day.
The urban air quality has also declined due to the vehicular emissions, construction activity and
other pollutants which contribute to the total suspended particulate matter (TSPM). The levels of
SO2 in the city are well within the limit but the level of NOxare marginally high and increasing
probably due to the continuous increase in the number of vehicles in the city streets. The SPM
levels are exceeding all over the city and need to be curbed drastically.
The reclamation process had a very damaging impact not only on the mangroves in Mumbai but
on the overall modification of landscape of the coastal city. According to a study, between 1995
and 2000, approximately 45% of mangroves were destroyed as a result of unchecked dumping
and illegal reclamation.
All these issues apart from those related to tourism, unplanned urbanization, migration,
industrialization, growth of slum areas, depletion and degradation of available resources,
diseases, etc turn out to be a lethal combination in wrecking the intricate balance that is much
needed between human activities, economic growth and the environment. Factors such as stark
differences in income levels, lack of proper civic amenities, as well as the absence of strict
zoning regulations leading to an admixture of land use, characterize the cities in the developing
countries.
Various studies have proven that the urban environmental issues have tended to assume an
important dimension especially in developing countries since there is a rapid increase both in the
number of cities and in the urban population.
Though it is a well-known fact that urbanization is closely followed by an array of social and
environmental problems, this study mainly focuses on the major environmental issues that have
cropped in the study region. The cause of most of the environmental problems in this
metropolitan city is unplanned urbanization as well as various other human interventions which
man has undertaken in order to achieve economic growth. But the truth is that man himself is
going to be at the receiving end of natural calamities that are initiated by him in the name of
progress and prosperity. The outcome of constantly interfering with the ecological balance is
visible in the form of various air-borne, water-borne and food-borne diseases apart from the
problem of water-logging during the monsoons, disruption of the transport network, decline in
the quantity and quality of fish catch, disappearance of the vegetative cover, an overall impact on
human life, etc.
Increasing urban populations and heavy concentration of industry and automotive traffic in cities
has resulted in severe air pollution. Emissions from automobiles and factories, domestic heating,
bakeries, roadside eateries and garbage-burning are putting the health of city dwellers at stake,
thus threatening long-term productivity as well as economic and environmental cost for the city.
Approximately 50% of the total population residing in Mumbai lives in slums which lack basic
hygiene and possess the bare minimum civic amenities.
All these issues acquire added significance in urban centres which generate immense quantities
of waste due to concentration of population and other human activities. Excessive over-crowding
of public places and congested roads are a common feature in Mumbai. Apart from the physical
stress that people undergo due to the abovementioned factors, air pollutants, too, have a negative
impact on the health of the residents.
Emissions from motor vehicles have been directly influencing increased levels of air pollution in
urban centres of the world (Mage et al, 1996; Mayer 1999). Besides substantial CO2 emissions,
significant quantities of CO, HC, NOx, SPM and other air toxins are emitted from motor vehicles
in the atmosphere, causing serious environmental and health impacts. UNEP as well as the
World Health Organization observed in 1992 that air pollution from motor vehicles is one of the
most serious and rapidly growing problems in urban centres of India.
The problem of air pollution due tovehicular emissionshas assumed serious proportions in some
of the major metropolitan cities of India and the problem has further been compounded by the
concentration of increasing number of vehicles in these cities. Therefore it is clearly evident that
vehicle emissions present an important environmental hazard that needs to be investigated, since
it may shorten the lifespan of people who are constantly exposed to it.
Thus, some of the issues which are considered to be requiring urgent attention and also requiring
remedial measures for maintenance of an ecological balance in the region are undertaken for the
purpose of study.
There are two main aspects that are considered for the purpose of study.
1. The first section deals with air quality at different locations in Mumbai and the total
number of vehicles owned in different administrative divisions of the city. A bifurcation
is also attempted with respect to diesel-run and petrol-run vehicles, in order to assess
their impact on the emission of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) as well as
Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM). Issues related to quality of air in parts
of Mumbai are studied to explore if auto-emissions are contributing to the increasing
pollutant load in the city and suburbs.
2. The second section focuses on the problem of solid waste management in Mumbai;
wherein, an effort is made so as to ascertain whether population increase and the
associated human activities are responsible for the growth in the generation of solid waste
in the city. An attempt is made to assess the situation in the light of the increase of
population and the employment profile at a ward level.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between environmental issues and the
various human activities responsible for the same.
The following objectives will be addressed:
• To bring out the major issues of environmental degradation existing in Mumbai (Island
City as well as the suburban area), such as ever-increasing population, increasing
vehicular population, air quality and the problem of solid waste management.
• To gauge if decline in air quality caused due increase in the levels of Nitrogen Oxides,
Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) as well as Suspended Particulate
Matter (SPM); and to find out if increasing vehicular population in Mumbai is a major
contributor.
• To explore the spatial and temporal variation of solid wastes in the city at a ward level.
• To suggest some corrective measures, if possible, to curb the process of environmental
degradation, that is happening due to various human activities and the unchecked process
of urbanization in the city.
METHODOLOGY
• The first section of the study tries to explore if any relation exists between the quality of
air, especially the concentration levels of RSPM, SPM, NO2 and SO2 in parts of Mumbai;
and the number of vehicles registered in the city as well as suburbs. For this purpose,
information related to air quality is obtained from the CPCB website, National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) office as well as the Air Quality
Monitoring Research Lab, Khar (Mumbai). The NEERI has three monitoring stations at
Worli, Parel and Kalbadevi, for which it monitors concentration levels of various
pollutants on an hourly basis and also on a 24-hourly basis.
• The annual average concentration in µg/m3 for RSPM, SPM, SO2 and NO2 for the three
monitoring stations was arrived at from the daily values. The air data for other locations
(Andheri, Khar, Bhandup, Borivali, Maravali and Kalbadevi) was obtained and the
annual average was calculated for each of the parameters for the all the monitoring
stations. The values thus obtained were compared with the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards specified by the Central Pollution Control Board. All values are analyzed and
graphically represented. The trend is observed for each of the station.
• Data related to number of vehicles registered in Mumbai during the period 1961 to 2011
was gathered from the Motor Transport Statistics of Maharashtra to study the growth
pattern in the number of vehicles in the central, eastern and western zone of the Greater
Mumbai. The percentage increase or decrease in the total number of vehicles registered
region-wise is calculated to get an insight into the growth trend between the period 1980
and 2010.
• Information from both the findings of the air quality over the different locations and the
growth in the vehicular registrations in the three different zones demarcated by the
transport department was taken up simultaneously to see if any comparison could be
made in the light of the findings. The percentage increase or decrease in the total number
of vehicles registered for select years was taken into consideration to arrive at a
conclusion if the increasing number of vehicles is leading to air quality decline. The map
of Mumbai is superimposed with the air and vehicle population data in an attempt to
explore if a correlation exists.
• The data for the number of vehicles using diesel, petrol, LPG and CNG in the Mumbai
region have been taken into consideration. The data was available for the years 2008,
2010 and 2011. The percentage of diesel-run vehicles to the total is calculated in an
attempt to get a clear picture regarding the percentage growth in the years 2008, 2010 and
2011. This is done as it has been understood from various studies that diesel-run vehicles
are more responsible for the release of air pollutants which are harmful to the health and
well-being of the residents exposed to it.
• In the second section of this study, the amount of solid waste generated at a ward level
and area-level was obtained to derive the spatial and temporal analysis by calculating the
coefficient index. The population data at an area level as well as ward level for select
years is taken into consideration to understand if population growth is solely responsible
for the increasing amount of solid waste that is generated in the Greater Mumbai region.
• Apart from this the level of employment profile is also taken into account to find if
employment growth existing in the various wards of Mumbai could be a causative factor
for the increasing volume of the floating population which could consequently be
responsible for the generation of the excessive solid wastes in the study region. The data
related to various demographic parameters was obtained from the Census Department,
Government of India.
• The data related to solid waste was collected from the Solid Waste Management Cell of
the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai which has the responsibility of collection
and disposal of solid waste and night soil generated by the city every day.
• For the years 1991 and 2011, data were collected at the ward level to get an insight into
the spatial variations in generation of solid waste within the city.
• With the help of the overall figures it was possible to relate the amount of solid waste
generated to the population at different time periods. The ward level data for two time
periods was utilized for determining the difference in the city and the suburbs; the
differences between eastern and western suburbs were also analyzed.
• For the year 2011, population data at ward level was not available from the Census
Department. Therefore, the overall figures for the island city and for the suburban region
were taken into consideration to calculate the concentration index.
• Method used for Analysis:For analysis of spatial variation at the ward level a
concentration index was derived which may be expressed as:
SWi/Pi
CSWi = --------------------------
SWj/Pj
Where,
CSWi= Concentration index of solid waste in the ith ward
SWi = Solid waste in the ith ward
SWj= Total solid waste in Greater Mumbai
Pi = Population in the ith ward
Pj= Total population of Greater Mumbai
If the ratio between SWiand Pi and ratio between SWjand Pjis the same then CSWi=
1. If CSWi> 1, it indicates a higher generation of solid waste per capita than for the city
as a whole, while if CSWiis < 1, it indicates less generation of solid waste per capita as
compared to the average conditions of Greater Mumbai.
The concentration index was calculated for the island city as well as for suburbs as a
whole. Suitable maps and graphs have been inserted at relevant places to represent the
findings. Maps have been made by using Mapinfo software version 9.
• In both the sections, secondary data is collated and analyzed. Studies undertaken by
various Government agencies are also taken into consideration. The Government
Agencies from which data was obtained were NEERI, MPCB, CPCB website, Solid
Waste Management Department of MCGM, All India Institute of Local Self
Government, Motor Transport Department of Maharashtra State, etc.
• Interactions with scientists at NEERI and also other office-bearers of all the above-
mentioned agencies also proved fruitful in understanding the issues in more detail.
IMPORTANT RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The main findings of the present study in the first section are related to the air quality over
different locations in Greater Mumbai region and the vehicular growth taking place in the three
transport zones of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).
The findings of the study undertaken are discussed below:-
1. Annual average concentration values of SO2 were found to be within limits for all sites,
though marginally higher values were observed at Bhandup, Maravali, Andheri and Khar,
for the period under study. With respect to NO2 levels in general, it can be seen that the
average annual concentration values have been found to be increasing and have exceeded
the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standards since the year 2003-2004 for all
sites, except Borivali.Andheri and Tilaknagar generally have the worst traffic bottlenecks
in the city and therefore possess highest levels of Nitrous Oxides and Suspended
Particulate Matter values (SPM).
2. SPM level was found to have exceeded the CPCB standards at all the sites. Maravali and
Khar sites are found to be heavily polluted.Maravali site which already indicated the
highest SPM value in the year 1999-2001, showed a significant increase in the
consequent years.In the year 2010-11, Maravali possessed SPM values which were
almost six times that of Borivali and thrice that of the other monitoring stations.
Maravali, an industrial zone lies in the Eastern suburb is located close to Chembur. The
fact that it is an industrial area and is also located in the vicinity of Chembur, which itself
is home to some of Mumbai’s most environmentally hazardous factories and industrial
plants, is proof enough for its status as the most polluted area for almost more than a
decade. The presence of the sprawling Chembur-Dharavi slum area, with its various
small manufacturing units and the prevailing unhygienic conditions because of the piling
heaps of garbage, and open-burning is also another important factor responsible for the
high pollutant load experienced in Maravali.
3. The RSPM values with respect to Parel, Worli and Kalbadevi. For all the three siteds
(Parel, Worli and Kalbadevi) it was observed that the values dropped during the year
2004, remained almost constant for the next two years and then again rose during the year
2009, after which it again declined during the year 2010. This sudden spurt during the
year 2009 and the sudden decline during the year 2010 appeared to be a perplexing
finding. The rise can be attributed to population growth, various other human activities,
apart from the increasing vehicular population, but the sudden decline by almost 50% is
difficult to justify. Though, some kind of error by the data provider cannot be overlooked.
4. The three monitoring sites chosen by NEERI represented one industrial activity zone
(Parel), a commercial activity zones (Kalbadevi) and a residential activity zone (Worli).
Though the zones have been classified as commercial, residential and industrial, it is
common knowledge that in Mumbai city one does not find any region which is purely
and solely based on a single landuse pattern. Places such as Parel which were earlier
basically industrial in nature, have transformed into an overlap of commercial as well as
residential area.
Similarly, Kalbadevi and Worli which are selected as commercial and residential zones
respectively again face a similar problem as both places do not conform entirely to the
assigned zone. The evolution of the urbanization process in Mumbai has been such that
residential as well as commercial zones overlap. Though the selected site with respect to
the activity zone has been specified for convenience purpose, each zone will always have
mixed activities.
5. A discussion with the scientists at the NEERI centre also revealed that the assigned zones
of industrial, commercial and residential regions in Mumbai cannot be strictly allotted the
specified National Ambient Air Quality Standards put forth by the CPCB due to the
overlapping of various land-uses.
6. The percentage of violation of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) (24
hourly average) for RSPM as well as SPM for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 at the
industrial site of Parel depicted much lower values as compared to the other two sites, of
Kalbadevi and Worli assigned as residential sites. Personal observations have led to
conclude that loading, unloading and transfer of cloth and other materials in the busy
lanes of Kalbadevi and the Crawford market in close vicinity, which remains crowded
with shops, hawkers and customers throughout the day may be an important factor for the
higher RSPM and SPM levels consequently leading to of violation of the NAAQS for
RSPM and SPM. The violation of NAAQS with respect to SO2 and NO2 revealed that
both these parameters were well within the standards specified by the CPCB and that the
violation was insignificant. The main reasons for this situation could be because of
shifting of most of the industries from Mumbai region that began in the early 90s itself.
Another reason could also be that population density being high at Worli and Kalbadevi
contributes to the increasing emission load of RSPM and SPM.
Kalbadevi, which as earlier mentioned is the focal region where most of the commercial
activities take place, especially the wholesale market for textiles, electronic goods, etc.
The residential area at Kalbadevi is easily overshadowed by the existing trading units in
the lanes and by-lanes of Kalbadevi that are perpetually crowded and congested. Road
dust arising of out loading and unloading of goods on the streets, apart from the vehicular
exhaust in this region is probably an important source of Suspended Particulate Matter as
well as Respirable Suspended Matter.
The other residential site of Worli, too shows almost equally high levels of both RSPM as
well as SPM. Here too, it may be noted that though Worli is not an industrial area the
causes of high levels of RSPM as well as SPM may be attributed to the open eateries,
bakeries, open refuse burning, road dust as well as vehicular exhaust arising out of the
constant and sluggish moving vehicles.
The reason for reduction of NO2 levels may be attributed to improvement in
infrastructure such as concretization and widening of roads, flyovers, subways, control
and synchronization of traffic signals, improvement in traffic movement to some extent
that leads to reduction in idling of vehicles, strict implementation of anti-pollution norms
for vehicles and use of ultramodern technology in new vehicles may have led to reduction
in auto-exhaust gases emissions. (ESR BMC, 1999-2000)
7. The CPCB reports as well as MPCB has reported a decline in emission load both these
parameters mainly due to shifting out of the previously existing industries. Though
Chembur and nearby areas in the Eastern Suburbs still have some of the polluting
industries such as the Chemical and Fertilizer industries, etc, the immediate effect of the
pollutant load is to some extent offset by the CDM initiatives adopted especially by the
RCF industries; as well as by the absorption scrubbers utilized by the other industries in
the vicinity, inorder to curb air pollution.
8. Levels of the various criteria air pollutants are generally found to be low during summer
and monsoons and high during winter and post monsoon seasons. The phenomena of
seasonal fluctuation is attributed to meteorological conditions, such as predominant wind
directions, turbulence and frequency of inversion, rains, etc. this has multiple effects,
dispersion of pollutants is rapid due to high turbulence and washing down of pollutants
due to rains. On the other hand accumulation of air pollutants occurs due to frequency of
inversion and stable conditions in the winter.
The configuration of Mumbai is such that industries are located in the north/north-eastern
part. The predominant wind direction is south/south-west during monsoons ad
north/north-east in winter. Stable atmospheric conditions ad predominant wind direction
in winter cause high pollution levels in Mumbai. (ESR Report, BMC, 2008).
9. Another very important and fortunate factor with respect to Mumbai is its coastal
location. The ventilating effects due to its maritime location may prevent the excessive
pile-up of the polluting parameters over the city. Thus the air turbulence and thus the air
quality of Mumbai are influenced by the diurnal land and sea breezes. The land and sea
breezes have a profound impact on the concentration levels of the various air pollutants at
different locations at different times of the year. The impact can be understood while
making a comparison of number of vehicles on road in Mumbai and in Delhi. Delhi with
slightly fewer vehicles-on road, experiences a higher concentration level of air pollutants
largely due to its geographical location.
10. Since 1991, Mumbai has seen a negative growth in industrial development. The city has
more concentration of commercial and other tertiary activities. This indicates that apart
from other area sources such as hotels, bakeries, open eateries, crematoria, etc. that are
responsible, the transport network, plays a major role in the decline in quality of air in
Mumbai, with an ever-increasing number of commuters who travel from the suburbs to
the island city. Incidentally, Kalbadevi, the old CBD lies in South Mumbai, that is in the
island city. The historical CBD that is the Fort Region as well as the modern corporate
CBD, Nariman Point too, lies in southern part of the island city. Though, the new
BandraKurla Complex is an upcoming focal point in Mumbai, the commuters travelling
to south Mumbai and back is much higher as compared to the other destinations. This has
grossly increased the traffic congestion on this route. Consequently the vehicular traffic
and pollution both, on this sector are very high during peak hours.
11. In the past, the CPCB as well as NEERI in their respective findings have concluded that
the air quality decline seems to be more pertinent in the suburbs than in the island city.
This theory holds true, as it can be seen that the vehicular population growth rate is found
to be maximum in the Mumbai (W) zone. The Mumbai (W) with places like Bandra,
wherein the overall population as well as the slum population is increasing. The Airport
and D.N.Nagar region too, with the slum areas of Dharavi in the neighbourhood, with the
associated and combined impacts of various anthropogenic activities as well as the
increasing traffic and the never-ending construction activities; and other repair works are
serving as major factors in the multiplied effect of rising air pollution in the respective
area.
Though, as pointed out by CPCB the high load contribution does not necessarily lead to
high ambient contribution of a particular source at the receptor site since emission
distribution in atmosphere depends upon multitude of factors such as local meteorology,
location, season, height of release, atmospheric removal processes and diurnal variation.
12. The findings related to the vehicular growth and the emission load of the city indicated
that emission values of Particulate Matter due to vehicular exhaust are much higher than
what they are for the emissions from industrial sources. The CO emission values for the
transport sector are almost half of what they are for the other area sources. The SO2
emissions are dominated by the industrial sources. NOx values are also lower as
compared to with the industrial sources, but the rail transport accounts for a major share
of NOx emissions. Hydro-carbons (HC) are, again, an important source of air pollution as
far as the transport sector is concerned. In comparison to the industrial sources of HC, the
vehicular exhaust accounts for 6 times the values obtained for industrial locations.
Though, other sources such as bakeries, crematoria, restaurants, open landfill burning,
etc. account for major share of HC emissions.
13. The Western Transport zone of Mumbai consisting of Bandra, D.N.Nagar, Wakola,
Airport, Saki Naka, Goregaon, Malad, Kandivali and Borivali reveals a significantly
higher growth rate of registration of vehicles as compared to the other two zones. An
analysis of the percentage growth of vehicles reflected that the western as well as eastern
transport zones are experiencing a marginal decline, while the Central Transport zone
experienced a fluctuating trend.
14. Khar and Andheri, which are found to be highly polluted with respect to air quality, lie in
the western transport zone. At the same time it has been found that the total vehicular
population is found to be highest in the Western Transport zone followed by the central
transport zone. It is interesting to note that Borivali also lies in the Western Transport
Zone and is the least polluted. The Borivali region encloses a notified National Park, and
therefore the population as well as number of vehicles is very less as compared to other
regions of Mumbai. The absence of industries and presence of a large stretch of natural
vegetation in Borivali also explains the comparative purity of air in the region.
15. Kalbadevi and Worli lie in the Central transport zone. Kalbadevi and Worli have higher
values of SPM as well as RSPM, and coincidently also have the maximum number of
vehicles using diesel as fuel. Kalbadevi is one of the busiest areas of South Mumbai. At
the same time, Worli lies on the path which is traversed by the north-bound traffic. The
road from Haji Ali towards Worli experiences traffic blockades very often, thus having
very sluggishly moving traffic which is also responsible for adding vehicular exhaust to
the region.
16. On the other hand the Eastern Transport region comprises of Maravali and Bhandup air
monitoring stations. The total number of vehicles registered in the Eastern region is least
as compared to the other two regions. But the air quality at Maravali is extremely bad.
For all the years for which the data was available and study undertaken, Maravali has
been found to be the most polluted of all the stations monitored for air quality. Other
factors that seem to influence the air quality at Maravali, are its proximity to Chembur as
well as the largest Dumping ground of Deonar being located in close vicinity. Maravali
as well as Chembur being industrial zones are host to a lot of environmentally hazardous
industries. The presence of Deonar dumping ground in the vicinity is also another
important source of air pollutants, as the process of dumping garbage, open burning, etc
causes added load of particulate matter. The ESR of Brihan Mumbai (1999-2000; 2010-
11), too has revealed that air quality at Deonar dumping ground exceeds the permissible
limit specified by the CPCB. The NOx and RSPM levels at the Deonar Dumping Ground
are about 140µg/m3 and 350 respectively (ESR MCGM, 2010-11).
17. A comparison of the decadal growth of Solid Waste and that of Population, for the period
1961 to 2011 was arrived at and the picture that arises is interesting to note as it can be
seen that though the decadal growth of population seems to be on a constant decline. At
the same time, the decadal growth of solid waste too is constantly decreasing, though the
amount is still quite substantial.
18. There is a more than three-fold increase in the quantity of solid waste generated in
Greater Mumbai region between the period 1971 and 2011 but the decadal growth reveals
an increase from about 3% in 1971 to 41% in 2011. During the same time-frame,
population has doubled, but the decadal growth of population dropped from 43.8% in
1971 to 4.4% in 2011.
19. During the year 2001, a negative growth in the percentage of decadal growth was
observed which seems out of place and difficult to analyze. There does not seem any
valid justification for the sudden drop by 65% and then followed by a sudden spurt of a
55% increase in the year 2011. In all probability there could be some error in the values
obtained from the SWM Cell of MCGM for the year 2001. A very important observation
in this aspect is that the rate of growth of solid wastes does not seem to be directly
influenced by the population growth. The amount of solid waste generated in the city has
generally increased over time and especially after 1971, the rate of increase has been
more rapid than that of population. This implies that it is not only the total population
growth that is responsible for the growth of solid waste but the prevalence of other
factors such as employment opportunities in certain geographical locations of the study
region, that could be responsible for increasing amount of garbage.
20. A predominant increase in employment level in the island city followed by a marginal
increase in the western suburbs could be responsible for a major chunk of population
travelling towards the island city and the rest towards the western suburbs. The 1991-92
figures for the quantity of solid waste generated annually reveal that the city as well as
western suburbs has almost the same amount of solid waste generated; while the eastern
suburban region generates only 25% of the waste in comparison to the other two
administrative divisions. In the year 2011-12 too, it is clearly evident that the quantity of
solid waste generated continues to remain significantly high in both the island city as well
as in the western suburbs. The eastern suburbs does not reveal a significant increase in
employment profile, but other studies have pointed to the fact that a considerable amount
of construction work in the eastern suburbs be may be responsible for the increasing
amount of garbage being generated .
21. The concentration index for the city region grew from 1.4 to 1.6 from 1991 to 2011. The
values for the concentration index of solid waste are indicative of the fact that the
increasing amount of solid waste cannot be attributed to population growth alone.
The employment scene in the island city showed maximum growth rate of employment in A-
ward (Colaba) followed by D- ward (Grant Road), it being 5.7% and 2.03% respectively. The
spatial variation for the corresponding wards with respect to percentage of total quantity of
solid waste generated was about 4.4% and 5.3% for A and G ward respectively.
Colaba, lying at the southern extreme of the island city is more of a commercial street and
extending towards the naval command region. It is known for its cafes, restaurants and retail
showrooms and footpath shops, and has also become the cultural hub of the city, especially
for South Mumbai. It also houses administrative offices, educational institutes, national
galleries and museums, other places of tourist attraction in the form of heritage buildings and
monuments. All these factors have contributed to a higher employment growth rate in this
ward, though the population growth rate in this ward is much lesser as compared to the other
wards such a D, E, F and G wards of the island city. The reason for less amount of solid
waste being generated in this region could be due to people’s awareness to segregate waste
before disposing it off and also because of efficient cleaning process taken up by the BMC
workers as it serves as an important destination for national as well as foreign officials,
dignitaries and tourists.
On the other hand, D ward (Grant Road) is dominated by various business and commercial
activities, small road-side eateries, apart from the existence of the local vegetable, fruit, fish
and meat market, which attracts a lot of local citizens is generally crowded throughout the
year, and the rate of generation of municipal solid waste is found to be much faster than the
rate at which the garbage is sorted out, collected and transported from this region. This could
also be due to the fact that the Grant Road streets remains congested through most of daytime
until late evening, thus making transportation of garbage by the large vehicles twice daily, a
rather difficult task, though the BMC has made it compulsory for the contractors to collect
garbage twice a day from all collection points.
In the Eastern suburbs, the data points to a higher population growth rate in M and L wards
in 2001. M and L-wards correspond to Chembur and Kurla respectively. Chembur is
followed by Kurla in terms of population in the year 2001. With respect to the employment
growth rate in the eastern suburbs, the M and L wards experienced a growth rate of 0.28%
and -3.8% respectively. It is a known fact that Chembur houses many chemicals, fertilizers
plants, refineries and reactors. Several other studies too have pointed out that Chembur has
been facing pollution problems and was even listed as one of the most polluted industrial
clusters in India. Its proximity to the Deonar dumping ground has been responsible for the
high rate of incidence of diseases in Chembur region.
Thus, it can be concluded that Chembur has got a problem of high generation of municipal
solid waste not only due to the excessive population but also due to the existence of a large
number of environmentally-hazardous industries located in and around Chembur. This
finding is supported by various other studies which have pointed out that Chembur also has
found high levels of toxic metals and non-metals such as copper, chromium, calcium, arsenic
and mercury in ground water. Effluents from the oil refineries, fertilizer plants and atomic
reactor located in Chembur are also said to have polluted sea water in the nearby Thane creek
and is also responsible to have affected marine life.
On the other hand, the western suburbs experienced a marginal increase in the growth of
employment opportunities between the period from 1990 to 1998. The increase is very
prominent in the H and R- Ward. The H ward which constitutes Bandra, Khar and Santacruz;
and the R ward which constitutes regions of Kandivali, Dahisar and Borivali are apparently
providing more employment opportunities in the geographical area of the western suburbs.
Bandra has become the focal point of the commercial and business hub in the new CBD that
Bandra-Kurla Complex offers. The growth in the employment in the R ward can be attributed
to the growing population in the suburban region due to which a rise in the number of
educational institutions, shopping malls, banking and other financial institutions is being
witnessed. The growth of these places with respect to employment opportunities should also
be seen in the context of them being accessible due to the local train routes passing through
these regions.
CONCLUSION
Levels of Sulphur Dioxide have been found to be continuously declining at all locations taken up
for analysis. Levels of NO2 have marginally declined in most areas of the study region. The only
parameters that are found to be showing a consistent and significant increase are the levels of
Suspended Particulate Matter and Respirable Particulate Matter. Khar and Maravali are found to
be the most polluted, wherein all the parameters of pollutants are found to exceed the acceptance
limits by National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The industrial zone of Maravali, accompanied
by the increase in the employment levels as well as the consequence of traffic congestion for
most of the day, all seem to have a compounded effect on the emission load of air pollutants in
this region. It may be noted that Maravali, lies very close to Chembur, which already is being
referred to as a ‘Gas Chembur’ by many researchers and environmentalists.
Increasing upgradation of the pollution control sytems by industries, feasible and appropriate and
urgent infrastructural changes in the city with respect to transportation network are an urgent
requirement if improved conditions of air quality are to be achieved. Though it is extremely
difficult to find open spaces in Mumbai city, if some way is found to increase the green cover on
the roof tops and the local civic authorities too, can try and save the existing tree cover in various
parts of the city, a drastic improvement in the air quality could be achieved.
An increase in the employment opportunities naturally implies a higher standard of living and a
high-end lifestyle for many people, who tend to become more consumerist in their day to day
approach. Despite the increasing consumerism, we have most people who are still ignorant about
civic sense and duties and more-so about the ill-effects of having a large carbon footprint.
Another important aspect that cannot be neglected is the inability of the civic authorities who are
rendered inefficient in managing the tremendous rate at which garbage is being generated. The
inefficiency seems to arise from the fact that the number of persons employed and vehicles
involved for the process of collection and disposal, though increasing is still lagging behind.
Another important reason is also the fact that though, according to the SWM Department of
MCGM, the vehicles used in collection and transportation of the garbage need to make two trips
per day on the same route, the traffic congestion on the Mumbai streets makes this task
impossible. Even the Solid Waste Department of MCGM has confessed that the dumping
grounds of Mulund and Deonar have very clearly outlived their lifespan and are proving
insufficient for accommodating and handling the ever-increasing amount of garbage. An article
in a National daily, Hindustan Times, 1st November, 2012, specified the observations made in an
official report submitted by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) that the
Kanjurmarg dumping ground did not follow the norms of the Municipal Solid Wastes Rules,
2000. The report pointed out that the solid waste disposed at the site was not segregated and
machines used to segregate bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste were lying unused. The
waste was also being dumped at the site without proper soil cover (10 cms of soil) that helps
contain the stench.
This reveals the inadequacy on the part of contractors to collect and dispose off the garbage in a
mandatory manner. Thus, despite appropriate government policies and available facilities, such
as bio reactors, composting facilities, etc., these are not being made use of to the fullest of their
capacity and at times even lie unused. According to another report submitted by the Maharashtra
Pollution Control Board, the contractors associated with the Solid Waste Department of
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai have cited several ‘constraints’ in the process of
collection of waste; while the most important reason cited is shortage of collection vehicles.
New sites, equipped with improved and suitable technology have to be proposed for being used
as dumping grounds. Strict adherence to the MSW Rules, with respect to segregation of dry and
wet wastes at every level, reuse and recycling of wastes and other materials; and strengthening
the role of rag-pickers and NGOs can definitely go a long way in reducing the amount of waste
reaching the dumping site.
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