Civic body to raze illegal chimneys in C ward

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked its licence department to demolish all illegal chimneys in the C ward, which are causing air pollution.

The ward’s licence department has also been asked not renew the licences of gold shops. The action comes in the wake of queries of Bhuleshwar and Kalbadevi residents about these chimneys. The deputy municipal commissioner (DMC) of Zone I held a meeting on Friday with the Bhuleshwar Residents Association and C ward officers to discuss possible solution to the problems that residents of the ward have been facing for several years.

According to officials present at the meeting, the residents were adamant about the authorities offering a solution. “A meeting was held on September 15 but no conclusion was reached,” an official said.

Harkishan Garodiya, a C ward resident, said, “We have been running from pillar to post to get rid of illegal chimneys in Bhuleshwar. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in 2009 conducted a survey in the area and specified that smoke emitted from the chimneys is hazardous to our health. Officials do not give licences for new shops but not renewing the licences of current shops will help us achieve our goal.”

D.M. Shah, another resident, said, “The entire C ward, according to the Development Plan (DP), is a residential zone that has been illegally made into a commercial place by goldsmiths.”

In order to curb the situation, BMC officials will demolish these chimneys. “If there is a new tenant in a building, the landlord will be intimated in order to ensure that that the place is not being used for commercial purposes. If the tenant is found using the place for such purposes, not only he but also the landlord of the building will be penalised,” said a senior BMC official present at the meeting.

Speaking about the civic body’s demolition plans, Suhas Karvande, DMC (Zone I) said, “We will carry out the demolition soon after the holidays are over. Meanwhile, all the respective departments in the ward office have been informed.”