A comprehensive clean air action plan for six urban centres of Odisha has been prepared to improve the ambient air quality. This was discussed and shared among the stakeholders, experts and activists in the State level workshop held here.
Chief Secretary AP Padhi inaugurated the workshop and said that Odisha had set on its journey for monitoring and management of urban air quality years back. The people who pollute must pay for compensatory action and the people who violate must be punished to deter the tendency of violation, he told.
Addressing the workshop, Additional Chief Secretary Forest and Environment Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said the action plan has been prepared in a time bound manner within two months under the joint efforts of the Centre for Science and Environment ( CSE), Delhi; Forest and Environment Department, Odisha and the State Pollution Control Board.
Mohapatra added that the action plan would be shared with all stakeholders and implementing agencies including peoples' organizations operating at different level for attainment of national standards of clean air quality in six air polluted urban centers
Member State Pollution Control Board Debidutta Biswal said the action plan has been prepared for the cities like Angul, Baleswar, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela and Talcher.
Notably, as per an air quality study, there are about 102 cities in India where air quality does not confirm to the National Ambient Quality Standards (NAAQS) including these six cities of Odisha.
Available data show the annual average level of particular matter less than 10 micron size (PM10) will have to be reduced by 39% in Angul, 28% in Baleswar, 36% in Bhubaneswar, 27% in Cuttack, 41% in Rourkela and 45% in Talcher to meet the National Air Quality Standard.