Mumbai, April 27 -- Amid rising concerns over air and water pollution across Maharashtra, data from the state environment department shows that out of 34,696 industrial units in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), nearly 19,000 fall under the moderate or highly polluting categories, posing serious risks to human health and the environment. The environment department, which is already working on stringent measures against highly polluting industries, will impose higher penalties to address the situation, officials aware of the matter told HT. According to data from the environment department, among the 34,696 industrial units in the MMR, 8,872 are located in Kalyan, 7,437 in Mumbai, 7,319 in Navi Mumbai, 7,312 in the Thane-Palghar region, and 3,756 in Raigad. These units are classified based on a pollution index - a score of 20 or below indicates negligible pollution; 21-40 indicates low pollution; 41-59 indicates moderate pollution; and 60 or above indicates high pollution. In the MMR, 8,500 industrial units fall under the highly polluting category, with scores at 60 or above, while 10,547 units are moderately polluting, the data shows. Kalyan is the most affected region, with 7,564 of its 8,872 industrial units falling under the moderate and highly polluting categories; among these, 2,685 units cause severe pollution that is hazardous to health. In contrast, only 4,055 industrial units across the MMR are classified as safe, with pollution index scores below 20. Environmentalist D Stalin said industrial units in the Kalyan-Ambernath-Badlapur belt continue to cause severe environmental damage despite repeated complaints and an ongoing case in the apex court regarding pollution in the Ulhas river. "Air pollution is also evident across the MMR, particularly in the Kalyan-Badlapur belt, in Navi Mumbai and the Khalapur area in Raigad," Stalin said. State environment minister Pankaja Munde had recently chaired a meeting to enhance accountability among industries discharging pollutants, where a decision was taken to increase bank guarantees and penalties for polluting industries, officials said. A report outlining these recommendations was expected within three months, after which highly polluting industries would face higher financial liabilities, the officials said....