Polluting tag on over 50% industries in MMR as data shows 19,000 of 34,696 units polluted

State environment minister Pankaja Munde chaired a meeting to enhance accountability among industries discharging pollutants; decision to increase bank guarantees and penalties for polluting industries was taken, with a report outlining recommendations expected within three months, after which highly polluting industries would face higher financial liabilities.

Environmentalist D Stalin notes ongoing environmental damage in the Kalyan-Ambernath-Badlapur belt and cites an apex court case over Ulhas river pollution; air pollution is evident across the MMR, especially in the Kalyan-Badlapur belt, Navi Mumbai, and Khalapur (Raigad).

Only 4,055 industrial units across the MMR are classified as safe, with pollution index scores below 20.

Kalyan is the most affected region, with 7,564 of its 8,872 industrial units in the moderate and highly polluting categories; among these, 2,685 units cause severe pollution hazardous to health.

In the MMR, 8,500 industrial units fall under the highly polluting category (score 60+), while 10,547 are moderately polluting.

Among the 34,696 units, 8,872 are in Kalyan, 7,437 in Mumbai, 7,319 in Navi Mumbai, 7,312 in the Thane-Palghar region, and 3,756 in Raigad.

Out of 34,696 industrial units in the MMR, nearly 19,000 fall under the moderate or highly polluting categories, posing health and environmental risks.

Hindustan Times reports data from the Maharashtra state environment department showing pollution categorizations for industrial units in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).