The Bombay High Court on Thursday proposed phasing out diesel vehicles and wood or coal-fired kilns used by bakeries to curb air pollution in Mumbai, reported Bar and Bench.

A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice GS Kulkarni said that transitioning to cars that run on compressed natural gas and electric vehicles instead of those that operate on diesel was important. “Not to copy Delhi, but can we consider permitting only CNG-driven vehicles and phasing out diesel engines?” the bench was quoted as having asked.

The court was hearing a 2023 suo motu public interest litigation relating to concerns regarding the deteriorating air quality in Mumbai.

During the hearing on Thursday, advocate Darius Khambatta, who is the amicus curiae in the matter, said that kilns, or bhattis, used by bakeries were the third-biggest contributor to the air quality crisis in the city. Pollution emanating from construction sites and red-category industries, such as smelters whose pollution index score is 60 and above, were the two biggest contributors.

The score denotes the level of pollution it produces. Industrial sectors having pollution index score up to 20 falls in the white category and those with scores between 21 and 40 are in the green category. A score from 41 to 59 indicates that the industry is in the orange category and industries with scores above 60 fall in the red category.

Khambatta urged immediate action against construction sites.

The court then asked if it was possible to get rid of bhattis used in bakeries, Bar and Bench reported.

“Bhattis are used by bakers and small food places,” the bench said. “We are not sure about the fuel used. According to reports, Mumbai produces over five crore buns annually. This could be a major source of air pollution.”

The bench asked: “Can the corporation suggest banning the use of wood or coal for all bhattis in the city? Is there any statutory regulatory regime available for bhattis? Can we impose a condition that new licences will only be issued if they discontinue the use of wood and coal?”

Advocate Milind Sathe, representing the municipal corporation, told the court that the civic body had issued notices to bakeries still using coal or wood-fired bhattis. The bakeries have been directed to switch to sustainable kilns within one year, Live Law quoted him as saying.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on December 31 invoked Stage 4 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan as the city’s air quality deteriorated, halting all construction activity in areas where the air quality index exceeded a value of 200.

Construction activities were immediately suspended in Borivali East and Byculla due to poor air quality, the municipal commissioner said.

Also read: How a construction boom led to toxic air in Mumbai