Dealing with noise pollution from construction in Mumbai

We have had the pleasure of incessant rock breaking activity next to our home. As a matter of fact, we have dealt with it stoically for the last 2-3 years. our building society wrote many letters to the police, BMC and all and sundry in sight. Again, to no avail. I went and spoke to our local police station chief saying this was noise pollution and needed to be stopped. To this I received the following response:

Construction activity has been approved by the BMC and so only they can revoke it. The noise from this construction does not have a volume control knob and so we cannot stop it.

I may well have settled for this bull-shit. Most of us do. hence most of us listen to this racket incessantly, get angry and frustrated eventually venting on the nearby people we love the most and unsuspecting pedestrians and co-citizens.

The following are strategies to take:

1. Call the police incessantly about noise pollution (if you call 100, take a name and complaint number). Technically I have seen them fine Rs. 5,000 per offence. Builders are obstinate and the police tires quickly. This is not a long term solution but creates enough headache for phase II. Use this as the guideline for assessing the limits in your area. Be clear to them that you are not complaining about the construction itself, but the noise pollution. Show them the guideline if needed. The iPhone has a free decibel meter that is quite useful in demonstrating the level of noise.

Note that police may tell you that the rules apply to only loudspeakers or those things whose volume can be regulated. This is not true. It applies to all noise pollution.

2. Procedurally, if you wish to stop the construction activity, you need to get someone from the BMCs environmental pollution office (I couldn’t find it online, but there is supposed to be an office somewhere near Worli Sea Face) to come and assess the noise and say it is too much. The report then needs to be forwarded to the BMC office that sanctioned the construction activity and then the process to stop the activity will begin. Good luck!

The path we took was a little unorthodox, but worked pretty well.

1. First we incessantly called the police (call 101, lodge a complaint, take a complaint number and log it with you. Also, log the consequences. Did someone come, did the noise stop and for how long).

2. Make friends with the local police officer (typically, chief inspectors are very responsive and a personal visit to your local police station will get you a meeting) and ask them to come home to get the full stereophonic experience over a cup of tea. Show them a list of calls you have made and how you have documented responses. Be careful to be nice and not make them feel inadequate at any time. Good time to use the iPhone app to demonstrate the noise level.

3. We had the rock breakers chief come by and ultimately struck a deal in front of the police whereby we agreed that all activity would be only from 9 am to 2 pm ( at the end of the day, some compromise is required) this would ensure minimum exposure of noise for the children and people at work. They gave us the contractors direct number and agreed that in the vent of an emergency between 9 and 2, they would stop work if needed.

The system has worked well. If I heard breaking at p2:01 and called the foreman, work would. E stopped immediately.

We also complain routinely about noise on Sunday and after hours first to the construction site foreman and later to the police and get prompt and effective responses.

If I happen to call the police for another reason, the officer on duty knows me as the “noise complainer”

Good luck, and keep fighting. It’s the only way we can save what little is left of this city. There are always good people who will listen and help. It just takes a little to find them.