Niti Aayog, CII draft plan for clean industry
NEW DELHI: A NITI Aayog and the Confederation of Indian Industry (Cii)-led task force on combating air pollution has drafted an action plan for a clean industry, which includes measures for prevention and control of fugitive particulate matter (dust and ash) emissions.the plan recommends mandatory funds allocation for air quality management under the Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) in cities with high pollution levels and mandatory contractual obligations for “clean” construction.
Underlining the need for developing capacity of urban local bodies in the National Capital Region (NCR) to ensure clean constructions, the plan seeks mandatory provisions under the National Building Code for ambient air quality management.
The task force has suggested that for a city figuring as noncompliant in any particular year, 40% of the CER funds may be diverted towards indicative activities as listed above based on the local requirements. The action plan is a part of the task force’s report, a copy of which HT has reviewed, on clean industry.
The action plan has recommended a strategy to address the particulate matter from concerned subsectors. It encompasses prevention and control of fugitive emissions across construction activities, operation of utilities including waste management within NCR and allied construction industry including brick kilns, concrete batching plants, stone crusher etc.
The task force has also recommended incentives for co-firing biomass in existing coal power units and giving priority status to clean generation and gas-based thermal power generation units.
“Leapfrogging to advanced biomass co-firing [more than 10% biomass] requires a long-term and comprehensive policy for the promotion of biomass co-firing in thermal power plants. Commercial feasibility of enhanced co-firing is still being evaluated. However, this could unlock a cost-effective strategy for greening the coal power and simultaneous reduction of emissions from stubble burning,’’ the report says.
Pollution spikes are common in the first half of November in northern India as farm fires peak in Punjab and Haryana and the resulting smoke settles over the region. Farmers often burn stubble left behind after harvest as a quick way of clearing their fields for the next round of sowing. The report says that the GST can provide a level playing field for sustainable building materials.
“As per the inputs from task force members, key barriers for adoption of sustainable building materials [despite clear economic and environmental benefit] arise from sourcing of virgin materials from illegal mining [such as aggregates, sand]. Therefore, fiscal or tax incentives are crucial to promote sustainable bulling materials,” it said.
In the report, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant notes that air pollution is a major threat to a healthy environment. He adds that the government think tank has been working closely with the CII and other stakeholders for controlling air pollution and that four task forces were constituted to recommend suitable interventions for clean fuel, clean transport, clean industry and biomass management.
The task force on biomass management had noted that its intervention in supporting improved crop residue management, covering 16,000 acres of farmland in Punjab’s Ludhiana and Patiala districts, resulted in reducing stubble burning. “Post the intervention, a total of 12,000 acres of farmland [75% of the total area] became free of stubble burning,” the report says. CII’S deputy director-general Seema Arora said they undertook a pilot project in 2018 after a report on biomass management. “The report gave recommendations on how to make machines affordable for marginal and small farmers.”
KOTA: Rani Mukherjee-starrer ‘Mardani-2’ has landed in trouble after the release of its trailer. Protesters in Kota, a city famous for its coaching institutes, have demanded a ban on the movie for ‘defaming’ their city. The movie centres around police’s hunt for a serial rapist and brutal murderer in Kota. Rani Mukerjee plays the role of the policewoman in the film, set to release on December 2.
Kota MP and Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has also objected to the film, saying that no one has the right to distort the image of the city. “Some organisations have approached me and demanded a ban on the film. The incident upon which the film is based is fictitious. So why did they have to drag Kota’s name in and malign the city?” Birla asked.
Kota corporator and BJP leader Gopal Ram Manda and BJP IT cell office bearer Mayank Sethi also submitted a memorandum to Birla on Friday, demanding a ban on the film. Leaders of the Congress and the Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, also, objected to the film with the latter’s vicepresident, Manjit Singh Nathawat, challenging the filmmakers to ‘tell us when the rape shown in the film was committed in Kota’.