Teams intensify crackdown, DJB, PWD among violators
NEW DELHI: Day two of the 10-day ‘Clean Air Campaign’ in the national capital kicked off on Friday with an inspection team penalising a department of the Delhi government for not taking dust-control measures while constructing a boundary wall inside the district magistrate’s office in east Delhi .
The Delhi government’s irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department located inside the district magistrate’s office complex was fined ₹30,000 for dumping construction material in the open. Even though construction activities have been temporarily banned in the city, construction material and debris was found lying uncovered.
A total of 44 teams comprising officials from both Centre and Delhi governments have been deployed across the 11 city districts led by area sub-divisional magistrates to report violations and check local sources of pollution. HT accompanied one of the teams in the area on the second day of the ‘Clean Air Campaign’ that was launched by Harsh Vardhan, Union environment minister on Thursday.
“A fine has been imposed on the executive engineer of I&FC for leaving construction material open on the stretch, allowing dust pollution in the area,” said sub-divisional magistrate Arun Gupta.
Between November 2 and 3, the team has issued 14 challans to government and private agencies amounting to ₹3.15 lakh.
Rampant violations were also found at IP extension, where heaps of construction waste was dumped before Aditi Apartments. Just adjacent to the housing society, two Delhi Jal Board (DJB) projects are under construction where the contractor had a diesel generator set operational on the site despite its use being banned temporarily in the capital. Inside the barricaded stretch, where an underground reservoir was to be built, huge mounds of excavated material were left uncovered.
The water utility was fined of Rs 50,000 for violations while the public works department (PWD), which is the road-owning agency in the above case, was levied a fine of ₹30,000. The DJB was again fined of ₹30,000 for leaving construction material uncovered opposite a private school at another sewer-laying project near IP Extension Metro station.
A DJB official said, “Work was being undertaken within a confined stretch. We will look into the matter if the contractor has engaged in any violation.”
A few kilometers away at West Vinod Nagar, where two schools and a residential colony dot the main road, large heaps of garbage was dumped on the road instead of a newly-built community dumping site.
“We had to dump the garbage on road as the new dumping site is yet to be inaugurated by the local councillor. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place in a few days,” said a municipal corporation official.
Extending from Vinod Nagar to IP Extension, a five-km long stretch of road was left unpaved with construction waste at various spots where new pavements were being constructed by the PWD.
“We may challan the PWD around ₹2 lakh for violations on such a long stretch. A decision on the same will be taken by the subdivisional magistrate’s office,” said a CPCB official.
Besides, the team has reported 24 violations from Jagatpuri, Shakarpur, Preet Vihar, Madhu Vihar, Mandawali and Ghazipur.