Why HC Panel Linked Mumbai Air Pollution to Traffic, PUC Gaps
5 min readMumbaiApr 13, 2026 03:53 PM IST
The High-Powered Committee (HPC) of two former judges appointed by the Bombay High Court to monitor compliance with air pollution-control directions has raised concerns over vehicular emissions in its preliminary report recently.
The panel directed the traffic department to take steps, including dedicated bus lanes on wider roads to ensure less impact on overall traffic flow in case a bus breaks down, preventive maintenance for such vehicles to avoid mechanical failures and barrier-free tolls across Mumbai and surrounding areas.
The panel also observed that the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) should also be made equally applicable to all planning authorities and local bodies to ensure several on-going construction works, including public infrastructure projects undertaken by them, do not remain unregulated.
The report was submitted last month to the HC bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A Ankhad hearing a suo motu (on its own) public interest litigation (PIL) raising concerns over deteriorating air quality in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The key findings from the preliminary report of February, this year were recently made available to the parties to the matter.
The HC on January 29 had formed the HPC comprising former Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court Amjad A Sayed (who earlier served as Bombay HC judge) and retired Bombay High Court Justice Anuja Prabhudessai. The HC had formed the panel after observing “insufficient monitoring” by civic authorities.
“After cursorily going through the record, the Committee has found that the major sources of air pollution in MMR are vehicular emission, construction and demolition activities, industrial emission, road side dust, open burning of solid waste/garbage and other waste and other sources like cooking emissions,” the preliminary report observed.
On RTO officer’s submission of Pollution Under Control (PUC ) drives to ensure carbon monoxide and hydro carbon levels are within normal limits, the HPC noted, “the detection of default remains relatively meagre compared to the sheer volume of the vehicular traffic”.
The panel told the transport officials that “issuing PUC certificates without actual testing is a growing concern because they allow highly polluting vehicles to bypass environmental regulations”. The panel sought special drives to identify PUC centres with “suspicious patterns” and deterrent action including cancellation of licenses of fraudulent operators.
The officials further informed HPC over steps taken to synchronise the traffic signals to speed up the traffic during rush hours. The panel then directed the authorities “to explore the use of Google Maps for effective synchronisation to streamline traffic management”.
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It also asked the authorities to take measures “to evaluate time-bound implementation of barrier-free tolling following the model used at Atal Setu”.
After the police officials informed the panel that main cause of traffic jams was breakdown of vehicles, including buses, the panel suggested regular preventive maintenance schedules for maintenance of such public transport buses. It also suggested implementation of a “policy where help is dispatched from the closest depot or mobile unit and not necessarily the original depot”.
“The committee also suggested implementing dedicated bus lanes on wider roads to ensure that even if a bus breaks down, it is restricted to a single specific lane, thus reducing the impact on overall traffic flow,” the panel noted. It also directed authorities to deploy towing vans and emergency teams at strategic locations to move the such vehicles, including trucks and lorries to avoid disruption in traffic flow.
Moreover, on the issue of congestion due to poor condition of roads, the panel directed the senior officer of Traffic Cell and BMC engineer to conduct joint inspection to identify traffic hotspots and potholes and take immediate measures.
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The panel also observed that “persistent disorderly parking despite available designated parking spots highlights a significant failure in enforcement”. It recommended demarcation of roadside parking spots with bright paint and strict imposition of fines and towing vehicles.
As the matter could not be heard on Thursday due to time constraints, the HC posted it to April 30, when it will hear suggestions on panel’s report.
Key directives by the panel
* Dedicated bus lanes on wider roads to limit breakdown impact to single lane
* Preventive maintenance schedules for public transport buses
* PUC crackdown – special drives against fraudulent certificate centres
* Google Maps for traffic signal synchronisation
* Barrier-free tolling following Atal Setu model
* Towing vans/emergency teams at strategic locations
* Joint inspection by Traffic Cell and BMC engineer for potholes or traffic hotspots
* Roadside parking demarcation with bright paint and strict fines/towing
