Theairwe breathe
GURUGRAM: The Haryana State Pollution Control Board’s air quality action plan for the city, which aims for a 35% reduction in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations by 2022, received in-principle approval from the state government on Friday.
The plan will now be sent for approval to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), and is expected to be implemented before the end of this year.
However, the HSPCB has requested minor revisions in the action plan for Faridabad.
These developments were discussed in a meeting with the HSPCB chairman in Panchkula on Friday, where Kuldeep Singh, HSPCB’S regional officer in Gurugram, and JB Sharma, regional officer, Faridabad, were appointed as the nodal authorities to oversee the implementation of the plans.
The HSPCB prepared detailed action plans for both cities, with short-, mid- and long-term solutions to curb air pollution, in accordance with the Centre’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and a last year’s order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which directed all non-attainment cities in India (that do not conform to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards) to prepare road maps for reducing air pollution levels.
S Narayanan, member secretary, HSPCB, said, “The aim of both plans is to reduce the quantum of pollutants by 35% within three years. Detailed objectives for different bodies have been included. It will have to be a coordinated effort, with each stakeholder taking accountability for their tasks.”
I n Gurug r a m,
the plan ascribes specific tasks to various stakeholders, including the HSPCB itself, as well as the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, National Highways Authority of India, the road transport authority, the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, the traffic police, the Public Health Engineering Department, the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, the Public Works Department, and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, among others.
“We have consulted with all the stakeholders who have committed to various timelines as part of the action plan. We will now send it to the Centre for approval, and will begin implementing it shortly. We are awaiting words on what the Centre’s financial contribution towards this plan will be,” Singh said.
JB Sharma, on the other hand, said, “We have been asked to make some revisions to the plan with regard to the role of the Faridabad municipal corporation. The updated draft will be submitt e d on Monday and we are expecting approval by next week.”