Environmental issues in Mumbai with special reference to air quality decline and the problem of solid waste management

Abstract

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. The ever-increasing population due to in-migration of skilled as well un-skilled manpower from within and outside the state of Maharashtra, expanding slum areas, existence of environmentally hazardous industries, increasing number of vehicular population, unending construction and repair works, growing heaps of garbage in the lanes and by-lanes of the city ; etc.apart from those related to tourism, unplanned urbanization, 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. 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. Besides substantial CO2 emissions, significant quantities of CO, HC, NOx, SPM and other pollutants are emitted from these motor vehicles in the atmosphere, causing serious environmental and health impacts. UNEP as well WHOP also noted in 1992 that pollution from motor vehicles is one of the most serious and rapidly growing problems in urban centres of India. This study focuses on two aspects of environmental degradation: a) air quality in Mumbai and b) the problem of solid wastes management in the city. While trying to assess the quality of air, an attempt was made to find if the increasing number of vehicles in the city could be responsible for the increasing levels of Suspended Particulate Matter and Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter in the study region.