Chandigarh pollution control committee issues notices to government bodies to curb air pollution
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Chandigarh: In a first, the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC), to mitigate air pollution in the city, issued notices to different govt bodies, including the UT engineering department, municipal corporation, Panjab University, and Indian Railways, delineating steps to be taken to curb air pollution.
CPCC gave 15 days to the different govt agencies to respond to the notices.
Saurabh Kumar, member secretary, CPCC, said, "Chandigarh comes under non-attainment cities because of not meeting prescribed ambient air quality standards, especially in the winter season, and the level of pollutants of particulate matter concentration (PM2.5 & PM10) goes beyond the prescribed standards for ambient air quality. Dust pollution is one of the major sources of air pollution, contributing high levels of PM concentration, i.e.
, PM10 & PM2.5."
Notices were issued as the whole of the Union Territory of Chandigarh was declared an Air Pollution Control area under the Air (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. Under Section 17(1) of the Air Act, 1981, the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee is to plan a comprehensive programme for the prevention, control, and abatement of air pollution and to secure execution thereof.
The Committee is of the view that to tackle the problems of road dust resulting from road construction, re-modeling, repair, unpaved roads, and the open land from where soil is easily blown into the air because of traffic or winds, such activities are required to be monitored and regulated.
The govt bodies like the municipal corporation and UT engineering department have been asked to take proactive steps in this direction as the owning/maintaining and road construction agencies have to play a greater role in the effective monitoring and implementation of dust control measures.
Meanwhile, the Railways were issued notices as the loading and unloading area under its control in the Daria area of Chandigarh is causing a lot of air pollution in contravention of the provisions of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
Kumar said, "To curb air pollution, particularly during the winters, collective institutional effort is required."
**BOX1: SOME OF THE MEASURES OUTLINED**
**UT Engineering Department**
- Shall cover the central verge with eco-friendly honeycomb paver blocks or with other aggregates.
- Shall explore the possibility of washing roads at night time with tertiary treated wastewater.
- Shall also explore the possibility of laying pipelines for the transportation of tertiary water on each main road and sub-road so that a mechanism can be worked out for spraying water at fixed intervals.
- Shall use the by-products generated out of the Construction and Demolition Waste Processing Plant as rejects to use on the exposed soil wherever required.
- Dust mitigation plan shall be incorporated in all construction projects.
- Thick vegetation cover or pebbles, whichever is feasible, on vacant exposed ground.
**Addition to Above for Municipal Corporation**
- The municipal corporation shall purchase an adequate number of vehicles (preferably e-Vehicles) to cover the entire city to sprinkle water during the morning hours on the roads before manual sweeping.
- Shall work out the mechanism for proper collection of fallen leaves and their disposal as it further leads to air pollution.
**Railways**
- To make arrangements to sweep the entire jurisdiction of the railway, including the loading and unloading area, and shall identify potential dust hotspots and make arrangements for spraying water in all such areas to suppress the dust.
- To provide provisions for the washing of wheels of the vehicles entering and exiting from the loading/unloading/weighing area.
- To take measures to ensure that there should be no exposed ground in railway premises and cover the exposed soil either with thick vegetation or pebbles, whichever is feasible.
- To cover all the loading and unloading areas, including the roads and weighing bridge area, with eco-friendly honeycomb paver blocks or any other suitable material to restrict dust suspension.
**BOX2: WINTER AIR POLLUTION**
In the past few years, the Chandigarh winters witnessed severe air pollution. At one point in November last year, it was reported to have the worst air quality in the country. On several occasions in the last couple of years, it was among the top three worst air-polluted cities in the country. On average, though, spanning the year-long period, the air quality hovers around moderate air quality. MSID:: 121653902 413 |
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