Delhi pollution body to initiate night patrols in industrial areas

THE COMMITTEE SAID THE CPCB IS ALSO WORKING TOWARDS CONVERTING ALL INDUSTRIAL UNITS TO PNG BY OCTOBER-END

NEWDELHI: To check pollution levels in the city, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) will begin night patrolling from Monday, especially targeting all industrial areas.

In a review meeting with the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) task force on Friday, the DPCC said the board is also working towards converting all industrial units to PNG by the end of October. Inspections of major construction sites are also being carried out, Arun Mishra, member secretary, DPCC said in the meeting.

A special drive will also be initiated in the next 10 days to control dumping of construction debris and garbage burning.

The city’s air quality index readings have been “satisfactory” for the past few days and scientists at the India Meteorological Department (IMD) have predicted that pollution levels are likely to remain the same in the first week of October as well.

“IMD scientists have said ambient air quality is expected to remain satisfactory till October 3, and considering the prevailing weather patterns, air quality is not expected to significantly deteriorate in the first week of October,” the minutes of the meeting read.

The task force asked the DPCC and pollution control boards of the neighbouring states to monitor industrial areas for emissions, as well as dumping and burning of waste.

“CPCB member secretary Prashant Gargava asked them to seek daily reports from implementing agencies and ensure penalisation and prosecution of defaulting agencies if needed,” the minutes read.

The CPCB task force also recommended undertaking a special drive for clearing of municipal solid waste, and construction and demolition waste in 10 days.

“Power distribution companies may be requested to maintain uninterrupted power supply to prevent the use of diesel generator sets in the winter,” it suggested.

Representatives from Haryana, UP and Rajasthan informed the task force about action being taken for dust mitigation, and the management of municipal solid waste, and construction and demolition waste. The states said they were maintaining a constant vigil, monitoring complaints on social media and have deputed guards to prevent the open burning of garbage.