CPCB: Punjab must get waste segregated at household level
MOHALI:STATING that the management of municipal solid waste is a major issue confronting the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) chairman SPS Parihar added that they had accelerated the process for the creation of a road map for a pollution-free country.
Parihar, in city for a conference on environment, said, “If the waste is segregated as dry and wet at the household level, management would be far easier.” He added Himachal needed to take this up in aggressive manner, since there was hardly any space for landfills there.
‘MOST OF COUNTRY NOT BEING ASSESSED FOR POLLUTION’
Parihar added, “Three hundred cities are being monitored for ambient air quality. However, most of India is not even being assessed with respect to air pollution. Delhi and NCR remain in the spotlight, but there are 94 cities that have failed to attain set levels.”
“The road map to a pollutionfree India has been accelerated. States have been instructed not to spare any polluting industry that needs to be closed. Such industries will be made to follow zero pollution norms in a timebound manner,” he said, claiming that the country lacked the equipment to certify paraphernalia used in air quality monitoring.
“We are dependent the US to verify the working of our air monitoring equipment and stations. Pollution of water bodies in Punjab and the rest of India is also a concern,” he added.
‘ONLY 3-5% E-WASTE IS RECYCLED’
Parihar added that the country recycled only 3-5 % of the Electronic Waste (e-waste) it generated. “Norms have been modified to enable producers to recycle the e-waste in a phased manner by employing intermediate agencies to collect it,” he said. He added that the department of space had been contacted to explore the possibility of using satellite imagery for measuring ambient air quality.
National Green Tribunal acting chairperson justice Jawad Rahim said, “According to reports that have been submitted to us, Punjab and Haryana have shown significant control over stubble burning this time.”