Chhattisgarh Government has sketched out a solid action plan which will help Raipur city to overcome pollution menace over the next two years, claimed Aman Kumar Singh, Chairman of Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB).
Raipur hit headlines across the nation this week for a wrong reason as the WHO released its report and confirmed that Raipur was among the top polluted cities of the world. The WHO disclosure put state government in a very embarrassing situation.
The CECB chairman said that the WHO’s recent report on Raipur’s pollution was based on statistics between years 2008 and 2013.
Singh further informed that according to the departmental protocol, ambient air quality monitoring station is being operated by separating Raipur into grids. With proper monitoring, pollution in industrial units operational in Raipur and its adjoining areas will be controlled and extensive plantation drive will also be taken up in and around industrial areas.
As per the conclusion of WHO report, the annual average Particulate Matter 2.5 levels for Raipur has been recorded as 144 microgram per cubic meter, said CECB Chairman, claiming that the conclusion is based on figure collected between 2008 and 2013.
To make Raipur pollution free is the key priority of CECB and with implementation of long-term action plan chalked out by the Board, the annual PM 2.5 level for Raipur came down to 49.33 microgram per cubic meter in 2015-16 (from 144 microgram per cubic meter which was recorded by WHO between 2008 and 2013), pointed Singh, elaborating that in coming years, it will reach to 40 microgram per cubic meter.
Singh further said that following the directives of Chief Minister Raman Singh and the state’s Environment Minister Rajesh Munat, efforts have been put in place to curb pollution in the city at five different levels including controlling vehicular pollution, implementation of online monitoring of industrial units, promotion on use of lPG against using firewood, kerosene and biomass for household purpose and proper storage and disposal of medical as well as industrial waste.