On February 1, 2016, I had written in these columns, “Mumbai’s solid waste management has become even more critical in view of health threats that the fires at Deonar dumping ground had created through the highest level of air pollution over the last three days. The unending fire and deadly smog had Mumbai raging against the civic and state administration and politicians. For several lakh residents living around the Deonar site, Mumbai is no longer their jaan (life), but they are forced to say: Mumbai legi meri jaan (Mumbai will take my life).” The piece was about the mismanagement of the Deonar dumping ground as well as high pollution levels. Seven years later, the city continues to face the issue with an unbeatable degree of air pollution that is not limited to a certain part of the city. Attention shifted from New Delhi, infamous for its air quality, to Maharashtra’s capital. Similarities were drawn between Mumbai and Bangkok as both cities competed for a global spot.

FMSpeak    

The state government and civic administration have joined hands to provide a solution through the BMC budget which was presented the day Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told a national daily in the city at a post-budget meeting, “Mumbai, despite its coastal geography, now faces ‘severe air pollution”, and she linked it to the challenge of waste management. She said the Centre was willing to help find solutions.