India, Feb. 1 -- In a stringent drive to rein in worsening air quality, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has stopped construction activity at nine sites across Sanpada and Ghansoli over the past few days for flouting mandatory pollution-control norms.

The action, taken in compliance with directives of the Bombay High Court, saw work halted at two projects in Ghansoli on Saturday and seven in Sanpada earlier this week. Civic officials said the developers had failed to implement prescribed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for dust and noise mitigation despite repeated warnings.

On Friday, a high-level inspection team led by additional municipal commissioner Dr Rahul Gethe, city engineer Shirish Aardwad and zone-2 deputy co...