Green initiatives: The Mumbai Energy Alliance (MEA), a partnership between local government and non-governmental organisations, promotes energy efficiency programmes in the Greater Mumbai region. Since 2008 the MEA has developed a pipeline of 25 projects that apply innovative and energy-saving technology in lighting, heating and cooling applications for residential, commercial, municipal buildings and smallscale industries. The combined projects, over a ten-year period, are targeted to make energy savings of 1,900 million kilowatt-hours and reduce CO2 emissions by 13 million tonnes.
Land use and buildings: Mumbai ranks average in land use and buildings. While Mumbai scores well for having the highest population density in the Index, it scores poorly for green spaces per person. The city only has 7 square metres of green space per person versus the Index average of 39 square metres, and the Indian city average of 17 square metres. It is also marked down for only having partial policies to contain sprawl and to protect its green spaces and other environmentally sensitive areas. Mumbai is also among the weakest in the Index at providing incentives and regulations to motivate business and households to lower their energy use. However, it does have eco-building standards in place for both private and public buildings, and receives full marks for publicly promoting ways to save energy in buildings.
Green initiatives: An eco-housing program makes it mandatory for construction companies to obtain “Eco-Housing certification” from the city. The programme, launched in partnership between the city government, the United States Agency for International Development, and the International Institute for Energy Conservation, provides incentives to property developers to make their buildings more energy efficient. The incentives include rebates on development charges and some tax allowances. The MEA (Mumbai Energy Alliance) has also successfully piloted an initiative to install new energy-efficient water pumps in buildings around the city. The new pumps have been operational since March 2010 and have resulted in improved efficiency, as well as electricity savings. The pilot initiative is now to be extended and, if implemented in 100,000 buildings, will make annual electricity energy savings of 200 million kilowatthours and reduce CO2 emission by 1.8 million tonnes over a ten-year period.
Transport: Mumbai ranks below average in transport. Although Mumbai’s suburban rail, bus and road network has seen real improvements in recent years, boosted by nearly US$1 billion in investment since 2002 (see “green initiatives” below), the network is overstrained. Although the city is well served by suburban rail services, the city lacks a superior public transport network as defined in the Index (metro, bus rapid transit, or trams). In transport policy areas, Mumbai also has room for improvement. The city government has yet to implement measures to reduce traffic congestion, such as the creation of car pooling lanes, pedestrian areas, or park and ride facilities in congested areas. Among traffic management measures evaluated in the Index, Mumbai has traffic light sequencing but currently lacks traffic information systems or central access points around the cities, although they are in the planning stage.
Green initiatives: The Mumbai Urban Transport Project has led to improvements in both rail and road transportation infrastructure. The project, initiated in 2002 and completed at a cost of US$945 million, built new railway tracks, introduced more comfortable railway coaches, converted two major east-west roads into six-lane highways, and modernised the bus fleet by introducing more user-friendly buses that run on compressed natural gas. The second phase of the project, to be implemented over the next five years until 2015, will focus on improving passenger-carrying capacity, operational efficiency and strengthening the management of the suburban rail system.
Waste: Mumbai ranks below average in waste, despite scoring well for the relatively low amount of waste it produces. On average, Mumbai generates 209 kg of waste per year on a per capita basis versus an Index average of 375 kg, and under the Indian city average of 226 kg. However, with a population of nearly 13 million, the seventh highest in the Index, that still leaves a lot of waste to handle, and Mumbai struggles to cope. It is estimated that just under a third of the city’s waste is collected and adequately disposed of, the lowest proportion of the cities covered in this report, and much lower than the Index average of 83%, as well as the Indian city average of 72%. The city could improve regulations covering its waste disposal sites, although it receives higher marks in the Index for its standards on industrial hazardous waste. Mumbai’s recycling strategy is comparatively weak, although it does operate on-site collection and central recycling collection points within the city
Green initiatives: The local government is promoting a programme called “Advance Locality Management”, a voluntary association of citizens who maintain cleanliness and reduce waste in their respective “colonies”, groups of 100 to 200 houses. Initiated in 1998, the programme currently covers over 700 colonies. The main activities undertaken by the group include segregation of waste at the source, handing over dry waste to waste-pickers, composting wet waste and associated public awareness activities. Another local government initiative is the “slum-adoption scheme”, which has extended door-to-door waste collection to 550 informal settlements.
Water: Mumbai ranks average in water. The city’s score is helped by a fairly efficient water system, losing just 14% of its water flow through leaks versus the Index average of 22%. This is the second best rate among cities with similarly low incomes in the Index (under US$10,000 in per capita GDP). The city has benefited from recent official efforts to reduce water leakages, which once ran as high as 50%. Mumbai is also comparatively sparing in its water use, consuming on average 250 litres per capita per day versus the Index average of 278 litres. In addition, Mumbai’s sources its water supply from lakes and rivers rather than less sustainable sources, such as deep aquifers and desalination plants. To combat periodic water shortages, however, Mumbai has undertaken feasibility studies to build a number of desalination plants.
Green initiatives: The city has introduced universal metering and water rates to control demand. With greater vigilance on water use, the city also hopes to deter water theft and tampering with the water mains.
Sanitation: Mumbai ranks below average in sanitation. Only an estimated 42% of the city’s population have access to sanitation versus the Index average of 70% (the Indian city average is 54%), although the Index figure for Mumbai dates back to 2005. Despite these difficulties, Mumbai still manages to treat 68% of the collected wastewater, which is higher than the Index average of 60%, and the Indian city average of 46%. And the city scores relatively well for its wastewater treatment standards. That said, Mumbai is one of only a handful of cities in the Index that does not regularly monitor sanitation facilities, either in communal areas or in the home.
Green initiatives: Mumbai is implementing the second phase of the “Mumbai Sewerage Disposal Project”, which aims to comply with national and international standards by improving sanitation access, sewerage-conveyance infrastructure and treatment facilities. An important component of the first phase of the project, from 1996 to 2005, was the construction of 330 community toilet blocks — totalling about 6,000 seats — that served 400,000 people within informal settlements. The second phase aims to build another 35,000 toilet seats by 2012.
Air quality: Mumbai ranks well below average in air quality, due mainly to the city’s legacy manufacturing base, especially foundry production, combined with high volumes of car traffic. Mumbai has the highest level of average daily nitrogen dioxide emissions in the Index, at 86 micrograms per cubic metre. Similarly average daily levels of suspended particulate matter, at 202 micrograms per cubic metre, are almost twice the Index average. Sulphur dioxide levels are also high, at 34 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to the average of 23 micrograms. Mumbai has recognised the challenge and has implemented an air quality code, and monitors air quality at different locations around the city with the results published on a web site. However it is marked down for not monitoring carbon monoxide emissions. Mumbai is also one of two cities in the Index that do not inform citizens about air pollution and its associated health dangers
Environmental governance: Mumbai ranks below average in environmental governance. Its environmental authority only has partial jurisdiction to formulate and implement policies on environmental protection. The city performs well for environmental monitoring, reflecting the fact that one of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s duties since 1994 has been “environmental protection and promotion of ecology and urban forestry”. The agency monitors environmental quality and reports the status of the environment annually through an official status report. In 2008-2009 about 8% of the agency’s budget went to “cleanliness and improvement of the city’s environment”, including activities pertaining to solid waste, eco housing, trees and air pollution. Yet while the city government is responsible for most services with a direct impact on the environment, including water, sanitation, waste, air quality, land use and human settlements, a number of other agencies with unclear jurisdictions and overlapping roles are also involved. These include the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Maharashtr