Mumbai’s pollution trilemma: When clean air meets street food culture

Picture this: the smoky char of fresh naan emerging from a wood-fired tandoor, the sizzle of kebabs on glowing charcoal, and the relaxing energy of Mumbai’s iconic Irani cafés where century-old ovens have been baking the perfect bun maska for generations. Now, imagine all of this disappearing overnight. This isn’t a dystopian fantasy—it’s the reality facing Mumbai’s food ecosystem as the city grapples with one of the most complex policy challenges in urban governance.

In January 2025, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) dropped a bombshell: all commercial eateries, restaurants, and bakeries must phase out their wood and charcoal-fired ovens in favour of electric or gas alternatives. The deadline? July 8, 2025. The rationale? Mumbai’s deteriorating air quality and mounting pressure to implement comprehensive pollution control measures.

The heart of the matter

Fundamentally, this is about how environmental policy clashes with cultural heritage, economic survival, and urban identity. The BMC’s tandoor ban is not just a regulatory directive—it is a metaphor for the impossible choices cities must make to balance sustainability and liveability.

Mumbai’s air pollution problem is a stark reality. The city regularly features among the most polluted in India, with particulate levels often far above safe limits. While traditional cooking methods contribute only a small percentage of total pollution compared to vehicles and industry, they offer a more visible and seemingly manageable target for swift intervention.

But the story becomes more complex. The BMC issued notices to 414 hotels and restaurants and 269 bakeries, instructing them to transition to ‘green fuels’. What appears straightforward on paper reveals layers of complexity in practice.

The unintended consequences

The policy’s implementation exposed blind spots in urban governance. Street vendors — pillars of Mumbai’s affordable food ecosystem — suddenly found themselves caught in a regulatory dragnet meant for larger establishments. The economic cost of converting to electric ovens ranges from ₹50,000 to ₹2 lakh per unit—a burden that could ruin small establishments running on paper-thin margins.

More worryingly, the policy threatened to erase cultural landmarks. Political leaders quickly called for a halt to action against Irani cafés and bakeries, urging heritage status—a reminder that some elements of city life are not only functional but also deeply symbolic.

The policy also revealed a fundamental disconnect of Mumbai’s food culture. The unique flavour of tandoor cooking—the smokiness, the char, the texture—cannot be replicated through electric substitutes. People are not merely buying food; they are experiencing a tradition, a connection to the city’s culinary heritage.

The trilemma exposed

This situation illustrates what policy experts call a ‘trilemma’—a situation where three desirable outcomes cannot all be achieved simultaneously. Mumbai’s leaders faced an impossible triangle: environmental protection, cultural preservation, and economic viability. Advancing one meant compromising the other two.

Protect the environment, and you risk destroying livelihoods and erasing cultural heritage. Prioritise economic survival, and air quality continues to deteriorate. Preserve cultural traditions, and progress on environmental or economic goals may stall.

The BMC’s swift and uncompromising approach reflected a technocratic solution to a deeply human problem. While environmentally sound, administratively efficient, and legally defensible, it was culturally tone-deaf, economically disruptive, and challenging to implement fairly.

Lessons for urban governance

This case presents profound insights into urban sustainability for policymakers.

First, environmental policies cannot exist in isolation from social and economic settings. Addressing climate change effectively requires an understanding of the human ecosystems it affects.

Second, timing and implementation matter as much as the policy itself. Abrupt transitions, however well-intentioned, often face resistance. A gradual approach—backed by financial assistance or technology partnerships—might have eased the transition.

Third, stakeholder engagement isn’t just good governance—it’s essential. The resistance to the ban reflected not only economic concerns but also a sense of exclusion from the policy-making process.

Fourth, the case calls for more nuanced environmental regulation. Not all pollution sources are created equal. A focus on small-scale traditional cooking methods while larger contributors remain unchecked raises questions about both effectiveness and equity.

Fifth, the case also highlights the need for better communication and engagement with relevant stakeholder groups. What critics dismissed as a “knee-jerk” reaction was, in fact, part of the BMC’s broader efforts to combat air pollution under the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan (MAPMP), developed in March 2023.

The bigger picture

Mumbai’s tandoor trilemma is emblematic of the larger dilemmas faced by Indian cities. While racing to meet environmental urgencies, they must walk a tightrope between modernisation and tradition, efficiency and equity, and global imperatives versus local realities.

The case also underscores the value of Systems Thinking in policy design. Environmental problems rarely have singular solutions; they require comprehensive strategies that support affected communities through necessary transitions.

Reflections for the future

What can we learn from Mumbai’s smoky tandoors? Perhaps the most sustainable solutions are not always the most obvious. Preserving culture and protecting the environment aren’t mutually exclusive—they demand more innovative, collective, and long-view approaches.

The tandoor ban raises uncomfortable questions: Whose city are we trying to save? Can we enjoy clean air without losing the aromas that define our neighbourhoods? What version of Mumbai do we want to inhabit?

As Mumbai continues to struggle with this trilemma, its experience provides lessons for urban India and beyond. The goal should not be to choose between environment, culture, and economy but to design solutions that honour all three.

The story of Mumbai’s tandoors is far from over. How it unfolds will reflect not just the city’s environmental resolve but its deeper values. The true test lies not in eliminating the smoke from its kitchens but in doing so without extinguishing its soul.

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