HC orders daily monitoring at Kanjurmarg dump, seeks methane emission mitigation plan in 2 weeks

The next hearing is scheduled on May 7.

The court noted that three experts, including representatives from NEERI and IIT, had been engaged by the BMC to study emissions at the site and suggest mitigation measures within two weeks. The BMC stated it would undertake additional plantations at the site to help contain the odour.

The division bench directed the state government and BMC to strictly monitor pollution levels at the site daily between 1am and 6am, start full-fledged monitoring from that Monday, and come up with a mitigation mechanism within two weeks to ensure methane gas is contained and not released into the atmosphere. The court asked for a detailed scientific explanation for why odour intensified between 1am and 6am, and directed installation of real-time, MPCB-certified displays to monitor methane emissions. Reports from monitoring are to be filed before the court.

During the previous hearing on April 24, the court warned that it would order the closure of the Kanjurmarg dumping ground if the state government and civic authorities did not act immediately and take concrete steps to curb pollution and hazardous methane emissions at the site.