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 from rural area areas s seeki eekin ng empl emplo oymen ymentt and and a bett better er life. fe. Despi espitte gove govern rnme ment nt atte attemp mpts ts to disc discou oura rage ge the the infl influx ux of peop people le,, the the city city's '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 Problems
Medium Term Long Problems Problems Pollution
Transport
Water Management
Migration Control
Term
Global 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 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.
MMR MMRDA
shoul hould d
crea create te
awar awaren ene ess
to
the the
gen general eral
publ publiic,
bef before ore
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 sign signiifica ficant ntlly
to
envi envirronmen nmenta tall
degr degrad adat atiion. on.
In
the the
thre three e
high highlly
indust industria riali lized zed states states of Mahara Maharasht shtra ra (of which which Mumbai Mumbai is the capit capital) al),, Guja Gujara ratt and and Tami Tamill Nadu Nadu,, per per capi capita ta inco income mes s are are abov above e the the nati nation onal al aver averag age, e, yet yet deat deaths hs in urba urban n area areas s from from resp respir irat ator ory y and and wate waterb rbor orne ne diseases diseases are dispropo disproportio rtionatel nately y high. Mumbai which which contribut contributes es 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 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 from rural area areas s seeki eekin ng empl emplo oymen ymentt and and a bett better er life. fe. Despi espitte gove govern rnme ment nt atte attemp mpts ts to disc discou oura rage ge the the infl influx ux of peop people le,, the the city city's '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 the coun countr try y as it gene genera rate tes s 5% of the the tota totall GDP. GDP.
It serves as an
economic hub of India, contributing 10% of factory employment, 25% of indus ndusttrial rial
outp utput, ut,
duty collections,
33% 33 % 20%
of i f inco ncome of
central
tax col collecti ectio ons ns,, excise
60%
tax col collect ections, ons,
of customs f customs 40% 40 %
of
India's foreign trade and Rs. 40 billion (US$ (US$ 820 million) in corporate taxes. taxes. Mumbai Mumbai's 's GDP GDP is Rs 200,48 200,483 3 crore crore (US$ 41.3 billion) billion),, and its per-capit per-capita a income is Rs. 65,361 (US$ (US$ 1,350), which is almost three times the national aver averag age. e. As of 20 2008 08,, the the Glob Global aliz izat atio ion n and and Worl World d Citi Cities es Stud Study y Grou Group p (GaWC) has ranked Mumbai as an "Alpha world city", third in its categories of Global of Global cities. cities. Stat State e and cen central tral gove goverrnmen nmentt empl emplo oyees yees make ake up a larg arge 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 single-room factories.
MUMBAI KEY ISSUES
Immediate Problems
Medium Term Long Problems Problems Pollution
Migration Control
Water Management Poverty
Term
Transport Global Warming 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 whic which h Mumb Mumbai ai is loca locate ted d cons consti titu tute te abou aboutt 43 per per cent cent of the the citi cities es 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 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 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 male males s stat stated ed that that empl employ oyme ment nt was was the the main ain motiv otive e behi behind nd thei theirr 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 only be manage managed d with with the expans expansion ion of indus industri trial, al, regio regional nal and rural rural developme development. nt. It is not the migration migration that has caused caused the problem problem for an expanding expanding metropol metropolis is like Mumbai, Mumbai, rather rather it is the lack of appropriat appropriate e policy of integrated development which is a matter of concern. • •
Prohibiting Prohibiting licenses for more industries to open Requesting Govt to provide more SEZ
•
•
Shif Shifti ting ng chem chemic ical al,, stee steel, l, leat leathe herr and and othe otherr indu indust stri ries es givi giving ng rise rise to pollution to SEZ areas Developing a organized city - well planned (Transport, electricity, water, park parkin ing g , poll pollut utio ion n cont contro roll lled ed city city with with prop proper er hous housin ing g and and drai draina nage ge disposal)
POLLUTION: Maha Maharrash shttra is payi aying a heav heavy y price rice for for its high degr egree of industrialisation and urbanisation, according to 'Environment Monitor', an annu annual al repo report rt rele releas ased ed by the the Maha Mahara rash shtr tra a Poll Pollut utio ion n Cont Contro roll Boar Board d (MPCB).The pressures created by demands of building infrastructure for a growing population, have had a severe impact on the environment, evident in the the dete deteri rior orat atin ing g qual qualit ity y of air air and and wate water. r. Each Each day, day, desp despit ite e larg large e 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 200607 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 Dema Demand nd (B (BOD OD)) - whic which h is the the amou amount nt of oxyg oxygen en requ requir ired ed by micr microoorganisms 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 The 'Env 'Envir iron onme ment nt Moni Monito tor' r' says says that that 99 per per cent cent of sewa sewage ge generated by municipal councils and over 50 per cent sewage generated by
munic unicip ipal al
corp corpor orat atio ions ns
go
untr untrea eate ted. d.
Thre Threee-fo four urth ths s
of
Sewa Sewage ge
Treatment Plants(STPs) lack valid operational consents, even the ones that have have thes these e are are over overlo load aded ed.. Last Last year year's 's repo report rt had had also also lame lament nted ed the 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.
Mism Misman anag agem emen entt of wast waste e othe otherr than than dome domest stic ic is also also a majo majorr 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 ''lack of training training and control''. control''. Bombay has a very high incidence of chronic respiratory problems, arising from extreme air pollut pollutio ion. n. The causes causes of pollu pollutio tion n are are mainl mainly y indust industri ries es in the easter eastern n 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 ChemburChembur-
Vashi road;affects Chembur, Chembur,Ghatkopar, Ghatkopar, Mankhurd and New Bombay. Bombay. Environmental Health Rights Organisation of India (EHROI) claims that that the the leve levell of part partic icul ulat ate e matt matter er arou around nd the the dump dump is abou aboutt 20 2000 00 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 of Chembur suffer from bronchitis and respir respirato atory ry dis distre tress ss caused caused by pollut pollutio ion. n. The study study found found that that Sulphu Sulphurr 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 Centra Centrall Publi Public c Healt Health h Engine Engineeri ering ng Resear Research ch Instit Institute ute to oppose 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 factor factories ies flout flout regula regulati tions ons by releas releasing ing noxio noxious us gases gases clande clandesti stinel nely y at night. night. The memoran memorandum dum alleges alleges that chemical industries industries have not made investments into effluent processing. As a result of Mumbai's size and high growth rate, urban sprawl, traf traffi fic c cong conges esti tion on,, inad inadeq equa uate te sani sanita tati tion on,, and and poll pollut utio ion n pose pose seri seriou ous s threats to the quality of life in the city. Automobile exhausts and industrial emis emissi sion ons, s, for for exam exampl ple, e, cont contri ribu bute te to seri seriou ous s air air poll pollut utio ion, n, whic which h is reflected in a high incidence of chronic respiratory problems among the Breath thin ing g Mumb Mumbai ai's 's air air has has been been like likene ned d to smok smokin ing g populace. Brea 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 reco ecorded
in
Cherrapunji,
Meghalaya.
As
a
result
of
the Mumbai
floods thousands of people were stranded in their homes and offices. Ever Every y day, day, 55 550 0 mill millio ion n gall gallon ons s of drin drinki king ng wate waterr must must be brou brough ghtt 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
Increa Increase se in run-of run-off, f, decli decline ne in well well yield yields s and fall in water water levels
Reduction in open soil surface area
Reduction in infiltration and deterioration deterioration in water quality
SOLUTION: RAIN RAIN
WATER ATER
HARV HARVES ESTI TING NG
AND AND
ART RTIF IFIC ICIA IAL L
REC RE CHAR HARGE
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 has decr decrea ease sed d dras drasti tica call lly y and and rech rechar argi ging ng of grou ground nd wate waterr has 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 Recharge pits are constructed constructed for recharging 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:Trenches:- These are constructed constructed when the permeable permeable stram 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 Dug well wells s:- Exis Existi ting ng dug dug well wells s may be util utilis ised ed as rech rechar arge ge structure and water should pass through filter media before putting into dug well. Hand pumps :- The exi existi sting hand hand pum pumps may be used sed for for recharging the shallow/deep aquifers, if the availability of water is limited. Wate Waterr sh shou ould ld pass pass thro throug ugh h filt filter er medi media a befo before re dive divert rtin ing g it into into hand hand pumps. Recharge wells: wells: - Recharge wells of 100 to 300 mm. diameter are genera generall lly y constr construct ucted ed for rechar rechargi ging ng the deeper deeper aquife aquifers rs and water water is passed through filter media to avoid choking of recharge wells. Recharge Recharge Shafts Shafts:: - For rechargin recharging g the shallow shallow aquifer 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 Roof top area 100 sq.m. for indivi individua duall house house and and 500 sq.m. for multi-storied building. Average annual monsoon rainfall - 780 mm. Effective annual rainfall contributing to recharge 70% - 550 mm.
Roof top area
Individua
Multistorie
l
d
Houses
building
100 sq.
500 sq. m.
m. Total quantity available
55 cu. m
275 cu. m.
100 days
500 days
forrecharge per annum Water available for 5 member Family
Benefits of Artificial Recharge:
Improvement in infiltration and reduction in run-off.
Improvement in groundwater levels and yields.
Reduce Reduces s strai strain n on Specia Speciall Vill Village age Pancha Panchayat yats/ s/ Munici Municipal pal / 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 sign signiifica ficant ntlly
to
envi envirronmen nmenta tall
degr degrad adat atiion. on.
In
the the
thre three e
high highlly
indust industria riali lized zed states states of Mahara Maharasht shtra ra (of which which Mumbai Mumbai is the capit capital) al),, Guja Gujara ratt and and Tami Tamill Nadu Nadu,, per per capi capita ta inco income mes s are are abov above e the the nati nation onal al aver averag age, e, yet yet deat deaths hs in urba urban n area areas s from from resp respir irat ator ory y and and wate waterb rbor orne ne diseases are disproportionately high. These three states with 20.6 per cent of Indi India’ a’s s popu popula lati tion on had had 40 per per cent cent of fata fatali liti ties es from from wate waterr-bo born rne e diseases and 48 per cent of respiratory diseases, defying the logic that higher higher per capit capita a incom income e leads leads to better better health health standa standards rds.. Indust Industri rial al 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. Almo Almost st one crore crore and fifty fifty lakh lakh is the Mumbai Mumbai’s ’s popul populati ation on and grow growin ing g at a very very rapi rapid d pace pace day day by day. day. The The rapi rapid d deve develo lopm pmen ent, t, 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 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 consideration for deciding the optimum population 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 infrastructure has totally collapsed and conditions are becoming impossible impossible for human living, we are still looping in dark to solve the problem. Nobody is having any answer neither we have any constitutional 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 job jobs s for for ever every y 10 100 0 resi reside dent nts s in the the Fort Fort area area,, crea creati ting ng enor enormo mous us congestion.
