8 cities in Maharashtra notified as highly polluted

The Union environment ministry has notified eight cities in Maharashtra as “highly polluted”. This means that there will be no or very little industrial development henceforth in these cities. These cities are: Chembur and Tarapur in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Dombivli, Nashik, Pimpri Chinchwad, Chandrapur and Aurangabad. The state government was informed about the ministry’s decision last week. The ministry has asked the state to take immediate measures to clear the mess. As part of this exercise, the state government has decided to rope in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to recommend corrective steps. The government will soon appoint local committees that will be consulted before deciding on allowing new industry or mines, a state government spokesperson said. Tarapur houses the country’s first atomic plant, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, besides a number of small pharma and bulk drug processing companies. People from Tarapur have time and again raised the issue of unchecked pollution. The state government, however, kept looking the other way. Plight of the people living in Chembur is no different. Air quality in this Mumbai’s crowded suburb was so bad that it earned a moniker “Gas Chembur”. Thanks to a unit of the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) and other chemical factories, the living standards continued to deteriorate in the region, a fact that failed to stop the state government from encouraging real estate development in the area. Same is a situation in the neighbouring Navi Mumbai and Dombivli. Uncontrolled industrial growth and gross violation of all environmental norms have made parts of these suburbs not conducive to living. These adjacent towns house the country’s first industrial corridor between Thane and Belapur. Pimpri Chinchwad and Nashik have seen spectacular industrial growth in the past decade with many global players setting up shops there. Aurangabad too has of late been an attractive destination for industries. But the worst affected is Chandrapur. The place is dotted with innumerable open cast mines that have made life of the locals miserable. Despite being a part of the country’s highly forested central province and a few tiger reserves, unchecked mining has brought the place to near ruins.