Mumbai Construction Air Monitors Face BMC Transparency Test

Awaaz Foundation has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to publicly release live data from air-quality monitors installed at construction sites across Mumbai, along with calibration records, equipment failures, repairs and enforcement action against sites that do not comply. The demand was made in a letter dated October 28 to BMC commissioner Ashwini Bhide, according to a report by the Times of India.

The environmental NGO’s request comes after a BMC circular issued on November 6, 2025, which sets out a standard operating procedure for ensuring that construction-site air-quality monitors remain functional. The procedure requires monitoring data to be transmitted live to the civic body’s Command and Control Centre, with the equipment remaining online for more than 95% of the time.

Under the procedure described by Awaaz Foundation, faulty equipment must be repaired within six hours and replaced within 24 hours. Sensors are required to be calibrated every two months, while ongoing construction sites must complete a co-location check within six months. The circular also identifies the reporting of zero values as a known indication of a sensor fault, the foundation said.