A team of officials from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MOEFC) will soon visit Mumbai to take stock of the ground situation and cross-check the measures implemented by the civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the officials said.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra health department has initiated a ‘Health Action Plan’ in which a district-level task force will monitor air pollution-related illnesses and ensure prompt treatment throughout the state.
This initiative follows multiple reports highlighting authorities’ disregard for health advisories during worsening air quality in Mumbai and intervention by the High Court.
An order issued on Sunday by the state health department also instructed the implementation of sentinel surveillance for acute air pollution-related illnesses in 17 cities. This involves tracking respiratory and coronary cases at city hospitals and comparing them to daily AQI levels.
Also, the Bombay High Court is scheduled to hear a plea seeking directions to the BMC and state government to curb pollution in the city on Monday.
In the past few days, the Air Quality Index in Mumbai has remained in the moderate to poor category, raising serious health concerns.
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