Mumbai: While the BMC has so far issued notices to as many as 269 bakeries and 414 hotels in the city to move to cleaner fuels, the BMC is considering various options to provide financial assistance or subsidies, including under schemes such as PM Svanidhi Yojana, to the bakeries for carrying out conversion to cleaner fuels such as PNG. The civic body, along with the MPCB, is exploring various options, including providing financial assistance or some concessions to the bakeries to convert to cleaner fuels.
Earlier, last month, following a Bombay high court direction, the civic body directed bakeries and restaurants to switch to cleaner fuel-based operations by July 8. Bakeries contribute to about 3.5 percent of the PM pollution in the city. While several licensed bakeries use cleaner fuels, the rest use wood and diesel as fuel for their operations. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) earlier directed urban local bodies to ensure that conventional fuels such as wood and diesel, used in bakeries, tandoors, hotels, restaurants, dhaabas, and open eateries, be replaced with cleaner fuels in a phased manner over the next year. However, the high court reduced the time frame for conversion to cleaner fuels.
Meanwhile, the MGL has announced a waiver in the security deposit for new Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections sought by the bakeries. “To reduce the financial burden on bakery owners and to get them on board to convert their operations to clean fuel-based ones, we are looking at various options from providing loans, finance to a subsidy under various schemes of the govt, including the PM Svanidhi scheme,” said a BMC official.
Mumbai: While the BMC has so far issued notices to as many as 269 bakeries and 414 hotels in the city to move to cleaner fuels, the BMC is considering various options to provide financial assistance or subsidies, including under schemes such as PM Svanidhi Yojana, to the bakeries for carrying out conversion to cleaner fuels such as PNG. The civic body, along with the MPCB, is exploring various options, including providing financial assistance or some concessions to the bakeries to convert to cleaner fuels.
Earlier, last month, following a Bombay high court direction, the civic body directed bakeries and restaurants to switch to cleaner fuel-based operations by July 8. Bakeries contribute to about 3.5 percent of the PM pollution in the city. While several licensed bakeries use cleaner fuels, the rest use wood and diesel as fuel for their operations. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) earlier directed urban local bodies to ensure that conventional fuels such as wood and diesel, used in bakeries, tandoors, hotels, restaurants, dhaabas, and open eateries, be replaced with cleaner fuels in a phased manner over the next year. However, the high court reduced the time frame for conversion to cleaner fuels.
Meanwhile, the MGL has announced a waiver in the security deposit for new Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections sought by the bakeries. “To reduce the financial burden on bakery owners and to get them on board to convert their operations to clean fuel-based ones, we are looking at various options from providing loans, finance to a subsidy under various schemes of the govt, including the PM Svanidhi scheme,” said a BMC official.