With no let-up in the pollution level in the national capital, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Thursday issued notices to over half-a-dozen Central and State Government Departments and agencies in NCR-Delhi region for not adhering to rules and regulations related to construction, demolition and disposal of debris.
The CPCB has also cautioned them “to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations relating to building construction, disposal of demolition/debris/waste and dust management, or else the building works will be stopped.”
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar stressed on the need to bring together all agencies to tackle pollution in Delhi area. "All agencies have to fight pollution in Delhi; only then the people of Delhi will get a little relief. I urge all agencies to ensure strict compliance with construction and demolition waste management rules and effective dust management."
He also said that pollution level in Delhi is much higher when compared to other metros like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and a few others which has similar number of vehicle and population because of its unique geographical location which results in suspended particles in the environment.
According to an official from the Ministry, a law was enacted by the Centre for the management of building and demolition waste four years ago.
There are also strict rules for dust management at building sites to prevent pollution.
As many as 50 teams set up to prevent pollution in the National Capital Region found during checking that the rules pertaining to construction projects/words are not allegedly getting followed by several government institutions.
Authorities came across alleged violation of rules at construction sites of Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) projects at Delhi Gate, Moti Bagh, Mandi House, and Tilak Lane. Similarly, CPCB member-secretary Prashant Gargav issued notices pertaining to sites of Delhi State Industrial Development Corporation, Delhi Jal Board, DDA, CPWD, DMRC, NHAI and MTNL, and asked them to adhere to rules, said the official.