MUMBAI ENVIRONMENTAL

ISSUES

Submitted By:

IBS, Pune

Prateek Shah

Vignesh Senapathy

R.K.Vishnu Vardhan
 Abstract

Mumbai occupies a site of natural scenic beauty. However, sheer

numbers of people and rapid population growth have contributed to some
serious social and environmental problems. Mumbai attracts immigrants
from rural areas seeking employment and a better life. Despite
government attempts to discourage the influx of people, the city's
population grew at an annual rate of more than four percent a year. Many
newcomers end up in abject poverty, often living in slums or sleeping in
the streets. An estimated 42 percent of the city's inhabitants live in slum
conditions. Some areas of Mumbai city have population densities of around
46,000 per square kilometer—among the highest in the world.

The key environmental issues of Mumbai are

Immediate Medium Term Long Term

Problems Problems Problems

Pollution Transport

Water Global
Migration Control
Management Warming

Poverty Population

Solving all the environmental issues of Mumbai is not an easy task.

The MMRDA alone cannot solve all these issues, the support of people,
government is very much important. The entire report deals with all
possibilities which MMRDA could do to improve the environment of
Mumbai. The local political parties despite making issues of nothing (like
Sharuk khan , Mr. Rahul Gandhi), needs to concentrate on improving the
nation.

MMRDA should create awareness to the general public, before

implementing any of the plans. Unless and until the public is happy about
the government and its progress nothing can be executed successfully.
 Citizens should be the key deciders of any issues, this should be kept in
mind by MMRDA

According to the World Resources Institute in Washington, the last

20 years have done little for poverty abatement in India, but contributed
significantly to environmental degradation. In the three highly
industrialized states of Maharashtra (of which Mumbai is the capital),
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, per capita incomes are above the national
average, yet deaths in urban areas from respiratory and waterborne
diseases are disproportionately high. Mumbai which contributes a huge
amount to Indian economy should be taken care with more care and the
MMRDC should implent the various plans with proper management.

“Vision of our project”

‘In Mumbai there will be no slums. The streets will be clean

with wide pavements unencumbered by hawkers. People will stroll
through pedestrian plazas. The night will be brilliant with majestic
buildings and fountains.’
 ABOUT MUMBAI:

Mumbai occupies a site of natural scenic beauty. However, sheer

numbers of people and rapid population growth have contributed to some
serious social and environmental problems. Mumbai attracts immigrants
from rural areas seeking employment and a better life. Despite
government attempts to discourage the influx of people, the city's
population grew at an annual rate of more than four percent a year. Many
newcomers end up in abject poverty, often living in slums or sleeping in
the streets. An estimated 42 percent of the city's inhabitants live in slum
conditions. Some areas of Mumbai city have population densities of around
46,000 per square kilometer—among the highest in the world.

Contribution of Mumbai
Mumbai is India's largest city and is considered the financial capital
of the country as it generates 5% of the total GDP. It serves as an
economic hub of India, contributing 10% of factory employment, 25% of
industrial output, 33% of income tax collections, 60% of customs
duty collections, 20% of central excise tax collections, 40% of
India's foreign trade and Rs. 40 billion (US$ 820 million) in corporate taxes.
Mumbai's GDP is Rs 200,483 crore (US$ 41.3 billion), and its per-capita
income is Rs. 65,361 (US$ 1,350), which is almost three times the national
average. As of 2008, the Globalization and World Cities Study Group
(GaWC) has ranked Mumbai as an "Alpha world city", third in its categories
of Global cities.

State and central government employees make up a large

percentage of the city's workforce. Mumbai also has a large unskilled and
semi-skilled self employed population, who primarily earn their livelihood
as hawkers, taxi drivers, mechanics and other such blue collar professions.
The port and shipping industry is well established, with Mumbai Port being
one of the oldest and most significant ports in India.
 In central Mumbai, there is an increasingly large recycling industry,
processing recyclable waste from other parts of the city; the district has an
estimated 15,000 single-room factories.

MUMBAI KEY ISSUES

Immediate Medium Term Long Term

Problems Problems Problems

Pollution Transport

Water Global
Migration Control
Management Warming

Poverty Population

Migration Control:

Migration should be controlled with an immediate effect because

without controlling migration, other measures will not be effective. (For
example: if government built the infrastructure with a certain population
growth rate, sudden migration will lead to failure of actual cause of the
project)

According to the estimates based NSS survey, migrants constitute

about 37 per cent of Mumbai population. There has been an increase in
female migration in the recent years compared to male migration. About
75 per cent of the migrants originate from the rural areas compared to 23
per cent from the urban areas. The migrants from Maharashtra state in
which Mumbai is located constitute about 43 per cent of the cities
population according to the survey. Migration from other states, mostly
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, has increased over the last two decades.
 The neighbouring state of Gujarat which once used to dominate the
migration streams to Mumbai shows considerable decline in the rate of
migration during the recent period due to the decline in the business of the
Gujarati communities in the city. The influx of population from rural areas
of other states to Mumbai shows an increase of about 10 per cent. The
international migrants constitute about one per cent of the total migrants.

Causes:
The economic factors have been the major reasons for migration to
Mumbai among males. According to NSS Survey data, about 69 per cent of
males stated that employment was the main motive behind their
migration. The data show that the rate of migrants in search for better
employment has been higher in the late 1990s. Social reasons such as
marriage and accompanying the family constituted about 90 per cent of
female migration.

Issues:

• Congestion
• Traffic increase
• More pollution ( Water , Air, Noise, Carbon emissions)
• Water scarcity
• Solid waste management
• Place constraint
• Increase in Real estate prices
• Power scarcity
• Spending more for less
• Sewage and drainage disposal problem
• Parking problem

Solution & Impacts:

The increased population of both migrants and non-migrants can

only be managed with the expansion of industrial, regional and rural
development. It is not the migration that has caused the problem for an
expanding metropolis like Mumbai, rather it is the lack of appropriate
policy of integrated development which is a matter of concern.

• Prohibiting licenses for more industries to open

• Requesting Govt to provide more SEZ
• Shifting chemical, steel, leather and other industries giving rise to
pollution to SEZ areas
• Developing a organized city - well planned (Transport, electricity, water,
parking , pollution controlled city with proper housing and drainage
disposal)

POLLUTION:

Maharashtra is paying a heavy price for its high degree of

industrialisation and urbanisation, according to 'Environment Monitor', an
annual report released by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board
(MPCB).The pressures created by demands of building infrastructure for a
growing population, have had a severe impact on the environment, evident
in the deteriorating quality of air and water. Each day, despite large
amounts of recycling, Mumbai produces 5,000 tonnes of garbage

Tests carried out to sample water quality all over the state showed
that at 70 per cent locations, quality has worsened as compared to 2006-
07 and none of (latest data required) the water bodies met their target
classes showing nil compliance of standards. The quality of water of rivers
Bhima, Purna, Tapi, Wainganga has deteriorated.

Regarding the level of pollution in the coastal waters in Mumbai,

indicators like dissolved oxygen level and the level of Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD) - which is the amount of oxygen required by micro-
organisms to decompose organic matter - show that coastal waters around
Mumbai still do not meet prescribed standards. In the case of Thane creek,
the deterioration has been most severe with the BOD level increasing by
almost five times to 640 mg/lt between 2006-07 and this year. This poses a
severe threat to aquatic life in these waters.

In Mumbai, where continuous monitoring is done at Sion

and Mulund, RSPM levels have been violated since last year reaching four
times the acceptable limit.

Noise levels were exceedingly high, being met at only 35 of the 254
locations that were monitored. In Mumbai, noise levels up to 112 decibels
were recorded, which is higher than the sound audible from a jet aircraft
taking off at a distance of 100 meters.
 The 'Environment Monitor' says that 99 per cent of sewage
generated by municipal councils and over 50 per cent sewage generated
by municipal corporations go untreated. Three-fourths of Sewage
Treatment Plants(STPs) lack valid operational consents, even the ones that
have these are overloaded. Last year's report had also lamented the
inadequacy of STPs but the number of municipal corporations with STPs
has remained at 16 with places like Jalgaon and Akola still not having any.

Mismanagement of waste other than domestic is also a major

source of pollution. The report admits that despite setting up of facilities
for treating both kinds of wastes, large quantities still reach the soil, air
and water because of ''lack of training and control''. Bombay has a very
high incidence of chronic respiratory problems, arising from extreme air
pollution. The causes of pollution are mainly industries in the eastern
suburbs and New Bombay, garbage burning by the BMC, and insufficient
control over emission levels from vehicles.

Nightly burning of garbage at the 100 hectare Municipal Garbage

Dump north ofthe Chembur-
Vashi road;affects Chembur,Ghatkopar, Mankhurd and New
Bombay. Environmental Health Rights Organisation of India (EHROI) claims
that the level of particulate matter around the dump is about 2000
microgrammes per cubic meter. WHO norms put an upper limit of 150. A
recent study by the Environmental Pollution Research Centre (EPRC) found
that about 10% of the population of Chembur suffer from bronchitis and
respiratory distress caused by pollution. The study found that Sulphur
dioxide levels have fallen in recent years, whereas nitrogen dioxide levels
have risen.

Located close to Thane-Belapur, the largest chemical industry zone

in Asia, New Bombay is exposed to high levels of toxic and carcinogenic
chemicals released by these industries. Studies conducted in 1974 had led
the Central Public Health Engineering Research Institute to oppose the
proposed location of New Bombay. However, CIDCO ignored this advice
and proceeded with the development. In a representation to the National
Human Rights Commission, it has been pointed out that several chemical
factories flout regulations by releasing noxious gases clandestinely at
night. The memorandum alleges that chemical industries have not made
investments into effluent processing.

As a result of Mumbai's size and high growth rate, urban sprawl,

traffic congestion, inadequate sanitation, and pollution pose serious
threats to the quality of life in the city. Automobile exhausts and industrial
emissions, for example, contribute to serious air pollution, which is
reflected in a high incidence of chronic respiratory problems among the
populace. Breathing Mumbai's air has been likened to smoking
more than 20 cigarettes a day!

WATER MANAGEMENT

Floods in Mumbai:

After torrential monsoon rains in Mumbai, the city had been much
affected by the flooding and aftermath of flooding. The rainy seasons in
Mumbai have always brought heavy rainfall but not like the ones that
Mumbai has experienced in 2005, 2006 and2007.

The Sewerage system though commendably well developed was hardly of

any use when faced with an average of 26.64 inches daily rain. The record
of the highest rainfall in Zagreb in 2005 had exceeded the highest rainfall
recorded in Cherrapunji, Meghalaya. As a result of the Mumbai
floods thousands of people were stranded in their homes and offices.
Every day, 550 million gallons of drinking water must be brought to
Mumbai from a distance of over 100 miles. Two million people live with no
toilet facilities.

Urbanisation effects on Groundwater Hydrology:

  Increase in water demand

 More dependence on ground water use

 Over exploitation of ground water

 Increase in run-off, decline in well yields and fall in water

levels

 Reduction in open soil surface area

 Reduction in infiltration and deterioration in water quality

SOLUTION:

RAIN WATER HARVESTING AND ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE TO

GROUND WATER

Artificial recharge to ground water:

Artificial recharge to ground water is a process by which the ground

water reservoir is augmented at a rate exceeding that obtaining under
natural conditions or replenishment. Any man-made scheme or facility that
adds water to an aquifer may be considered to be an artificial recharge
system.

Why rain water harvesting:

Rain water harvesting is essential because:-

Surface water is inadequate to meet our demand and we have to

depend on ground water.

Due to rapid urbanization, infiltration of rain water into the sub-soil

has decreased drastically and recharging of ground water has
diminished.

Rain water harvesting techniques:

There are two main techniques of rain water harvestings.

• Storage of rainwater on surface for future use.

 • Recharge to ground water

The storage of rain water on surface is a traditional techniques and

structures used were underground tanks, ponds, check dams, weirs etc.
Recharge to ground water is a new concept of rain water harvesting and
the structures generally used are :-

Pits :- Recharge pits are constructed for recharging the shallow

aquifer. These are constructed 1 to 2 m, wide and to 3 m. deep which are
back filled with boulders, gravels, coarse sand.

Trenches:- These are constructed when the permeable stram is

available at shallow depth. Trench may be 0.5 to 1 m. wide, 1 to 1.5m.
deep and 10 to 20 m. long depending up availability of water. These are
back filled with filter. materials.

Dug wells:- Existing dug wells may be utilised as recharge

structure and water should pass through filter media before putting into
dug well.

Hand pumps :- The existing hand pumps may be used for

recharging the shallow/deep aquifers, if the availability of water is limited.
Water should pass through filter media before diverting it into hand
pumps.

Recharge wells: - Recharge wells of 100 to 300 mm. diameter are

generally constructed for recharging the deeper aquifers and water is
passed through filter media to avoid choking of recharge wells.

Recharge Shafts: - For recharging the shallow aquifer which are

located below clayey surface, recharge shafts of 0.5 to 3 m. diameter and
10 to 15 m. deep are constructed and back filled with boulders, gravels &
coarse sand.

Diversion of run-off into existing surface water bodies

Construction activity in and around the city is resulting in the drying

up of water bodies and reclamation of these tanks for conversion into plots
for houses.

Free flow of storm run off into these tanks and water bodies must
be ensured. The storm run off may be diverted into the nearest tanks or
depression, which will create additional recharge.
 Methods of artificial recharge in urban areas :

 Water spreading

 Recharge through pits, trenches, wells, shafts

 Rooftop collection of rainwater

 Roadtop collection of rainwater

 Induced recharge from surface water bodies.

Computation of artificial recharge from Roof top rainwater

collection :

Factors taken for computation :

Roof top area 100 sq.m. for individual house and 500 sq.m. for
multi-storied building.

Average annual monsoon rainfall - 780 mm.

Effective annual rainfall contributing to recharge 70% - 550 mm.

Individua Multistorie
l d
Houses building

Roof top area 100 sq. 500 sq. m.

m.

Total quantity available 55 cu. m 275 cu. m.

forrecharge per annum

Water available for 5 100 days 500 days

member Family

Benefits of Artificial Recharge:

 Improvement in infiltration and reduction in run-off.

 Improvement in groundwater levels and yields.

  Reduces strain on Special Village Panchayats/ Municipal /
Municipal Corporation water supply

 Improvement in groundwater quality

 Estimated quantity of additional recharge from 100 sq. m.

roof top area is 55.000 liters.

Poverty:
According to the World Resources Institute in Washington, the last
20 years have done little for poverty abatement in India, but contributed
significantly to environmental degradation. In the three highly
industrialized states of Maharashtra (of which Mumbai is the capital),
Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, per capita incomes are above the national
average, yet deaths in urban areas from respiratory and waterborne
diseases are disproportionately high. These three states with 20.6 per cent
of India’s population had 40 per cent of fatalities from water-borne
diseases and 48 per cent of respiratory diseases, defying the logic that
higher per capita income leads to better health standards. Industrial
houses dumped hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous wastes on
fallow or public lands without any proper safeguards, thus making their
way into the air or water bodies.
 Population :

The population of Mumbai is over 17 million residents at a density

of 45,662 persons per square kilometre.

Almost one crore and fifty lakh is the Mumbai’s population and
growing at a very rapid pace day by day. The rapid development,
employment and good infrastructure are inviting people to migrate into
this great city. Problem is suffocating atmosphere of Mumbai.

Question today is about optimum population size of Mumbai. In

1948 the Modak Mayer Plan had suggested 13 lakh as a ceiling for the
island’s population and 31 lakhs for the whole of Greater Mumbai. The
Study Group on Greater Mumbai, who reviewed the question in 1958,
viewed with alarm any increase in the population of Mumbai island over
the then existing size of over 25 lakhs and suggested the immediate
setting up of measures for decongesting the island.

In 1966, the Gadgil Committee suggested a ceiling of 55 lakhs for the

whole of island, while the development plan of Greater Mumbai, which was
finalized in 1967, was worked out on the basis of a population of 70 lakhs
by 1981. The primary consideration for deciding the optimum population
should not be the physical availability of land or ad hoc figures about gross
or net densities. The total gross area zoned for residential purposes in
Greater Mumbai according to development Plan by BMC is about 16,690
hectares. Merely on the basis of the physical availability of land, the
Greater Mumbai can accommodate about a crore of people on the basis of
current trend in FSI grants.

Authorities are there to give good civic infrastructure. Their resources are
limited. Government is helpless. Citizens are deprived of their Right to
Liberty. The constitutional Crises are acute. Nobody or authority can stop a
citizen of India to stay and franchise his rights in Mumbai. Mumbai is part
of Indian Republic. But at what cost? Citizens of this great city are dying
hard. The living conditions are worst because of rising migrants. When
infrastructure has totally collapsed and conditions are becoming impossible
for human living, we are still looping in dark to solve the problem. Nobody
is having any answer neither we have any constitutional solutions.
People must be restricted at once or infrastructure must be improved, this
is the only solution one can think of.

Forty per cent of the formal sector jobs in Mumbai are concentrated
within a two-mile radius of Flora Fountain around the Fort. There are 144
jobs for every 100 residents in the Fort area, creating enormous
congestion.