3 min readPuneFeb 25, 2026 10:34 PM IST
Increasing air pollution due to construction dust in the city raising health concerns of citizens, the Pune Municipal Corporation on Wednesday said it was planning to make it mandatory for all construction of 1,000 sq meter area and more to install air quality sensors at site which would be tracked through live board by the civic administration.
As per the guidelines of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), it has been made mandatory for construction structures of area with 5000 sq meter and more area. “There are 650 structures under construction having an area of more than 5000 sq meters. 175 of them have so far have installed the air quality sensors at construction sites and the remaining have been directed to install air quality sensors as early as possible and link them to the dash board of PMC,” said City Engineer Annirudha Pawaskar.
The Indian Express through its `Breatheless Pune’ series on rising air pollution in the city had highlighted the causes of air pollution and its impact on the health of citizens.
Pawaskar said there had been complaints of air pollution due to construction activities and “the PMC issued notices of stop work order for 220 constructions in the last two months till they took measures to check air pollution after which 193 took steps to reduce air pollution.”
Municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said the ARAI survey of 2022 revealed that the construction industry is one of the major contributors to air pollution and PM10 particles through construction is 23 percent in polluted air.
After inaugurating the dashboard to monitor air quality at construction sites and the workshop on ‘air pollution control and measures’, mayor Manjusha Nagpure said citizens should use public transport for commuting to reduce air pollution in the city. The launch of the dashboard is a good step towards monitoring air quality due to construction activity and controlling air pollution, she added.
Mitigation steps include metal sheet barricading of minimum 25 feet height along the site perimeter, building structure covered with green cloth/tarpaulin to prevent dust dispersion, regular water sprinkling on exposed surfaces, internal roads, and dust prone areas, water fogging during loading and unloading of construction materials and water sprinkling on debris, excavated earth, and loose material.
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All construction material, excavated earth and waste shall be stored on the site, not dumped on public roads or pavements and shall be covered with tarpaulin, installation and operation of sensor-based air pollution monitoring and LED indicators as per PMC specifications. Construction sites are to conduct grinding, cutting, drilling, and similar dust-generating activities in enclosed areas and must use vacuum machines and dust capturing shroud for grinding operations especially during high-activity periods.
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