Construction addstoito’swoes
New ITPO convention centre, WHO head office, road revamp make bad air worse at busy traffic intersection
NEW DELHI: Barricades barely cover the heaps of cement and construction material left in the open; the tattered green covers, meant to cover under-construction sites, do little to contain the dust rising from Pragati Maidan that has three major under construction projects —the new international exhibition cum convention centre at the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) complex, the World Health Organisation (WHO) headquarters and the road redevelopment project by the Public Works Department (PWD).
Little wonder then that ITO, near which Pragati Maidan is located, has become the new pollution hot spot of the city — the pollution has turned from bad to worse over the past three days.
In view of the deteriorating air quality in the national capital, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), on Wednesday, had extended the ban on overnight construction activities from October 30 to November 2. The window of the ban was also stretched — it is now from 6pm to 10am from the earlier 6pm to 6am.
With Delhi air becoming more hazardous by the day, the uncontrolled dust from construction activities in Pragati Maidan has become a major cause of concern.
Several smaller digging activities are ongoing around the site, further exacerbating an already worse situation.
Data from the CPCB shows that ITO, where the nearest air quality monitoring station is located, was among the first stations to slip into the ‘severe’ category this season, along with the usual hot spots of Anand Vihar, RK Puram, Bawana, Narela and Dwarka.
A day after Diwali, when the overall air quality index (AQI) of the city was trying hard to stay in the ‘very poor’ category, the AQI average at ITO was 423, way into the deep-red zone or severe category.
In fact, the PM 2.5 (fine particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 microns) level has been above 250ug/m3 (in the severe zone) since Monday, four times the safe limit of 60ug/m3. In an ongoing plea before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), a joint committee found major lapses in dust control norms on the part of both the PWD and NBCC this month.
Even when Delhi was breathing relatively cleaner air, the condition around these construction sites was critical. Data shows that in July this year, when the average AQI of the city remained in the ‘moderate’ category, the PM 2.5 levels was in the ‘poor’ category (between 110ug/ m3 and 120ug/m3).
When Hindustan Times visited the area around Pragati Maidan’s construction sites, the ban on overnight construction and the claims of dust control measures taken showed no result.
Even though a few sanitation workers were seen sweeping the road around the site, it reminded one of Sisyphus rolling the rock up the hill, only for it to roll down again — the dust being swept away was dispersed again by moving vehicles that left in their wake huge plumes of dust.
Dhirendra Nath, a regular commuter on the Pragati Maidan stretch, said waiting at the bus station there has becomes difficult with dust flying everywhere.
“The bench of the bus stand is coated with a thick layer of dust all the time. If you sit and get up, you leave a clear mark on the bench. When the bus arrives, it scatters the dust that is swept to one side. It becomes difficult to stand there,” he said.
Despite the visible violation of dust control norms, the construction agencies working there said that “all precautionary measures were put in place”.
“We follow all norms at construction sites to control dust.
Still, if there are violations, we will look into them and ensure that dust is controlled,” a senior PWD official, on condition of anonymity, said.
NBCC (India) Ltd, which is undertaking two projects at Pragati Maidan — the WHO headquarters and ITPO convention centre — was fined ₹5 lakh last month for not taking steps to control construction and demolition waste at their sites.
NBCC chairperson and managing director PK Gupta, however, said after the agency was fined, an action-taken report was submitted to the pollution control agencies.
“We are complying with all C&D waste management rules now,” Gupta said Thursday.