Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Sunday said the Delhi Government has imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh against the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for not following the anti-pollution directives of the Government.
Rai said only one anti-smog gun was found on the NCRTC site and directions issued to the facility not to start work until another anti-smog gun is installed. The Minister said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will launch spraying of anti-stubble burning solution from in Ghazipur village on October 13. He added so far we have received applications to spray the anti-stubble burning solution on nearly 1,500 acres of land.
The Environment Minister conducted an on-site inspection of the NCRTC as part of the anti-dust campaign. “Massive dust pollution is happening here. The guidelines issued by the Delhi Government regarding pollution control are not being followed by the agency, therefore, strict action will be taken against the NCRTC,” he said.
The NCRTC is already aware that anti-dust operations are being carried out all over Delhi but they are not following the rules completely. “I have penalised the NCRTC of Rs 50 lakh. If despite this they continue the violation then the work will be banned,” he said.
Rai said the anti-dust campaign is being carried out across the Capital and the teams of Delhi Government are inspecting at different places.
“There are 39 large sites in Delhi, covering an area of more than 20, 000 square meters where either construction work or demolition work is going on,” he said.
On the instructions of Delhi Government, anti-smog guns have been installed at 33 of these places to prevent dust pollution but six anti-smog guns have not yet been installed at six sites.
Earlier the Minister visited FICCI where the work was going on without notifying the Delhi Government.
Rai said, “Our teams and officials are visiting all the hotspots and the places where the demolition works are going on. This is a time of emergency and the Delhi government is focusing on reducing the pollution level right now by putting certain rules and regulations to tackle the local sources of pollution. If the situation worsens in the future then other restrictions will come into play and the government will take a call on restrictions such us odd-even depending on the situation.”
“We will take strict actions against the violators. We have taken action against the FICCI and if they do not follow the norms then more stringent action should be taken. In NCRTC they have partially followed the norms and an anti-smog gun has been installed here and another anti-smog gun is said to be purchased by October 14, but until the second smog gun arrives, we will not allow the construction to begin,” he said.
He said, “We have prepared a bio-decomposer with Pusa Research Institute to stop the stubble burning inside Delhi. The solution is now ready and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will start spraying the anti-stubble burning solution on October 13 at Ghazipur village”.
So far we have received applications to spray the anti-stubble burning solution on nearly 1500 acres of land, he said.