‘Mumbai facing public health emergency,’ Sena MP writes to BMC over bad air quality

Pointing towards Mumbai’s worsening air quality, Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora on Thursday (November 27, 2025) wrote to the BMC seeking ‘urgent, extraordinary and sustained intervention’ to address the ‘public health emergency’ faced by the financial capital. He pointed out that despite strict guidelines, the compliance on ground remained inconsistent, asking for an immediate halt on all the digging and construction work till the air quality improved.

“Given the severity of the crisis, routine measures will no longer suffice,” he said in the letter addressed to BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani.

Posting the letter on social media, Mr Deora said, “Mumbai’s air-pollution crisis is no longer a seasonal issue — it is a public-health emergency. India needs a nationwide war & a national consensus against air pollution. #Mumbai is gasping for clean air. As a Mumbaikar & a public representative, I believe we deserve better. It is my duty as your MP to stand with you on this growing concern. I have written to the @mybmc Commissioner urging immediate & extraordinary action, including a temporary halt on all digging & construction work until air quality improves. Let’s come together & build a public-awareness movement for clean air.”

Putting out data, he said the alarming numbers spoke for themselves about the situation in the city. “On 22 November 2025, Mumbai’s AQI touched “298 (Unhealthy), with PM2.5 at 126 µg/m² and PM10 at 163 µg/m. On 23 November 2025, the AQI again remained high at “255, with PM2.5 at 110 µg/m³ and PM10 at 138 µg/m³. According to the “BMC Environment Status Report 2024-25, annual PM10 levels across monitoring zones range between **70-125 µg/m³, while PM2.5 levels range **27-52 µg/m², with Chembur reporting the highest concentrations. October 2025” was Mumbai’s most polluted month of the year, with several monitoring stations recording their highest PM2.5/PM10 levels since January.”

Shiv Sena UBT MLA and former Environment Minister of Maharashtra Aaditya Thackeray also raised the issue of Mumbai’s worsening air quality, adding that the city competed with India’s national capital of New Delhi in the ‘terrible AQI’ race. 

“The Governments from top to bottom, currently controlled by the BJP and it’s allies conveniently ignore the plight of the people. In Mumbai, builders and contractors are a priority for the BJP govt, while apart from the construction and demolition works, tree felling in the name of “development” is the new mantra of the BJP. And as if this wasn’t enough, the BJP government is planning to de-regularise Sanjay Gandhi National Park and open it up for “development”- means builders!”

He also alleged that Nashik’s famous Tapovan forest was being hacked by the BJP government, and that the land will allegedly be handed over to Adani after the Kumbh mela. “Likewise, in Nashik, the Tapovan- a forest meant for meditation and known for its serene connect with nature and our spiritual heritage, is being hacked by the BJP. This Tapovan, after the forest has been destroyed, and Kumbh is over, will be handed to the Adani group by the BJP. It’s heartbreaking to see so many cities from India in the “most polluted cities” list and it’s shameful that the BJP governments don’t care. All they care about is builders and contractors, not citizens,” he posted.