Admin readies plan to check pollution
NOIDA: The Gautam Budh Nagar administration has readied an action plan and identified eight hotspots to check pollution in the district during winter . The administration has also written to various departments, including Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna authorities, to appoint nodal officers and execute the plan. “We have identified eight hotspots-- Sector 7X, Sector 150, Yamuna Pushta Road, Noidagreater Noida Expressway, Dadri Road, underpasses of Noida Expressway, Greater Noida west and UPSIDC industrial area. We have written to different departments to check pollution,” Suhas LY, district magistrate, said.
The authorities and other departments concerned have been asked to notify the administration and the pollution department about the appointment of nodal officers by October 10. These officials must then update the district administration on actions they take to check pollution on a daily basis.
In the action plan document, the administration said that road dust, construction and demolition waste, industrial emissions, traffic, unpaved roads, etc. added to pollution in the identified hotspots. Utsav Sharma, regional officer of the Uttar Pradesh Pollution
Control Board, said that the administration has written to all the three development authorities in Gautam Budh Nagar regarding the plan as well. “They are required to take various measures like increase the frequency of mechanised cleaning, sprinkle water on the road, and to check and ensure compliance of environmental norms in construction works,” he said. He added that they are also required to check the burning of rubber, plastic waste, etc in public areas.
The traffic police department has also been asked to deploy additional manpower to ensure smooth vehicular movement at traffic hotspots. “The traffic police should impound diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years in compliance with the Supreme Court orde,” the DM’S letter stated.
During winter every year, Gautam Budh Nagar’s air quality usually deteriorates leading to poor visibility for several days.
Avinash Tripathi, officer on special duty, Noida authority, and a nodal officer for pollutionrelated issues, said that the authority is ready for this action plan. “We already do mechanical sweeping on Noida roads. We have so far made 225km roads dust-free zones. We will start sprinkling water on the roads once we get directions in this regard,” he said.