India, April 28 -- Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday took serious note of complaints regarding foul odour emanating from the Kanjurmarg dumping ground, especially during the night, and directed the state government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to strictly monitor pollution levels at the site daily between 1am and 6am. Warning the civic body against taking an "adversarial approach" in the matter, a division bench of justices Girish Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe also ordered concerned officials to come up with a "mitigation mechanism" within two weeks to ensure methane gas emitted from the site was strategically contained and not released into the atmosphere. The court was hearing a batch of petitions filed by residents of the eastern suburbs, nonprofit Vanashakti, and others, challenging the continued dumping of municipal solid waste at the Kanjurmarg dumping ground. The petitions also raised concern over persistent odour emanating from the facility, spreading across Kanjurmarg, Bhandup, Vikhroli and Mulund, particularly during the night hours. During the previous hearing on April 24, the court had warned that it would order the closure of the dumping ground if the state government and civic authorities did not act immediately and take concrete steps to curb pollution and hazardous methane emissions at the site. On Monday, the court said that Methane gas is formed naturally and is odourless. "You won't even know about its emissions. The problem is over how are you going to contain it and see that this gas is actually used for consumption by the contractor and is not released in the air, as it is actually contributing to global warming." The court noted that the BMC, in its affidavit, had failed to address the issue of foul odour, and sought detailed response and scientific explanation for why the odour intensified between 1am and 6am. "Why is it happening only at night? What happens during this time? Is there more movement of trucks in the evening? Or are there any aggressive activities taken up in the evening? If yes, you'll have to control these activities", the judges said. The court said that a proper indicator of emissions must be installed at the dumping ground as soon as possible. "We want proper certified displays by the MPCB (Maharashtra Pollution Control Board) to be installed at the site to monitor methane emissions and it should be scientific, based on real time," the court said. Directing the BMC to carry out "full fledged monitoring" from Monday itself, the court said, "We can certainly notice the seriousness of the situation as all these areas are developing ones and are thickly populated. The continuous odour and pollution affecting such a large population cannot be accepted." The court further noted that three experts had been engaged by the BMC to study emissions at the site and suggest mitigation measures within two weeks. The next hearing is on May 7....