Inspection teams find widespread violation of green norms at ‘hotspots’
NEWDELHI: Even as a 10-day ‘emergency action plan’ to deal with Delhi’s toxic levels of air pollution kicked in from Thursday, inspecting agencies found widespread violations of green norms in major pollution hotspots including areas like Anand Vihar, Dwarka and Ghaziabad.
Clouds of dust, neglect of construction norms, waste dumping and vehicles parked on pavements were among the dozens of violations observed in these areas during an inspection conducted by the Sc-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) along with officials of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
The air quality in Anand Vihar and Dwarka was in the ‘severe’ category on Friday while Ghazia- bad fell in ‘very poor’ category.
All construction work has been temporarily halted between November 1 and 10, under the emergency measures. EPCA said it has issued seven fines ranging between ₹5,000 and ₹50,000.
“The situation at Anand Vihar ISBT has improved, but problem areas still exist at the adjoining railway station. Northern Railways authorities have still not opened the second approach road, which was asked to be constructed to reduce congestion in the area,” said Bhure Lal, chairperson, EPCA.
A spokesperson for Northern Railways said, “The new entry for railway station is ready but could not be opened to traffic because of several pending works including smoothening of entry from main Ghazipur Road, cutting of five trees and shifting of signage on main Ghazipur Road.”
Anand Vihar, being close to Anand Vihar Faridabad Dwarka --- Ghaziabad two industrial areas — one in Patparganj and another in Ghaziabad— a slaughter house not far away and another bus terminus on the UP side, pollution levels in and around the terminal reaches highly toxic levels every winter.
“In Dwarka, open waste dumping was found in many sectors. The situation is worse in Ghaziabad where construction norms such as covering of building material and dug-up soil are being totally neglected,” said Lal.
Meanwhile, in Faridabad, the state government ordered closure of all stone crusher units and strict action against waste burning. “All the crusher units operating in Pali-mohabatabad have been closed for 10 days beginning today after order from pollution control board received last evening,” said Dharamvir Bhadana, president of stone crushers association, Pali-mohabatabad.
NBCC – a central governmentfunded construction agency — issued new guidelines for contractors to curb air pollution at under-construction sites. “No open trucks will be allowed. All building materials as well as wastages will be transported in steel containers,” NBCC said in a statement. The guidelines will come into effect in Delhi once the 10-day ban on construction is lifted.
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