Anti-noise activists urge BMC to map silence zones

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Anti-noise activists urge BMC to map silence zones 

Friday, 9 October 2015 - 7:55am IST | Agency: dna | From the print edition 

Chaitanya Marpakwar (/authors/chaitanya-marpakwar) 




The notification was issued by the BMC's environment department last week, following a rap from the National Green Tribunal (NGT). 

A day after dna reported that for the first time the civic body had notified 'silence zones', identifying over 1,500 locations across the city, activists have urged the BMC to map these zones. 

The notification was issued by the BMC's environment department last week, following a rap from the National Green Tribunal (NGT). 

"It's good that the BMC has notified the silence zones (/topic/silence-zones) but they need to be mapped. Entire zones must be plotted on a map, which should be made available to the public. Only then will people know whether they stay in a silence zone or no. They can then complaint to the police," said RTI activist Mohammed Ishtiaque Bagban. 

The NGT order was the result of a three-year-long battle by Bagban. Since 2011, Bagban, who lives near Crawford Market, used to call the police control room whenever noise norms were violated. However, the police did not respond. With no response from authorities, he moved the NGT. 




Anti-noise pollution activist Sumaira Abdulali of Awaaz Foundation (/topic/awaaz-foundation) said the silence zones should be part of the city's Development Plan (DP). "Till the time one knows the exact boundary, complaints to the police about noise violations had little effect. The BMC must publicise the notification. People are not aware whether their buildings are marked as part of a silence zone or not. The boundaries should be included in the DP too," she added. 

According to the notification, 1,537 locations have been marked as silence zones, which include roads around schools, colleges, hospitals, religious sites and courts. The eastern suburbs have the highest number of silence zones (540), western suburbs have 524 and the island city has 453. 

The L ward, which includes Kurla, has the highest number of silence zones — 268. The C ward, which includes Pydhonie, has the least — 12. 

According to officials, if an area is declared as a silence zone, there is a ban on loudspeakers, horns, musical instruments and the bursting of firecrackers there. There is a cap on the decibel level of noise in the silence zone. Further, noise mitigation measures have to be adopted for construction activities in such areas. 



Chaitanya Marpakwar 



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