The Chhattisgarh Government has prepared an action plan for controlling air pollution in all cities of the State.
As per the plan, a complete ban had been imposed on burning of solid waste within municipal limits of all cities, officials informed.
On the real estate development front, the permission component now has the condition of controlling dust which would require builders to cover under construction structures with green coloured maze.
Notably on June 21 this year, Chief Minister Raman Singh had convened a meeting of senior officials of all departments and had delegated responsibilities for controlling pollution in the cities.
Notably, Chhattisgarh is already set to ban commercial vehicles which are more than 10 to 12 years old —mainly autos, trucks and buses.
Buses plying on long-distance routes which are more than 12-years-old are already denied permits. The trucks which are more than 10 years old will not be given permits to ply on the roads, officials informed.
Chief Minister Raman Singh had convened a meeting of senior Government in a meeting of Chhattisgarh Environment Protection Board at his official residence here recently.
Singh, during the meeting , said that the State Government would undertake stern measures to control pollution in the interest of the people of the State.
The truck owners will be given one-year period to buy new vehicles. Registration of more than 8-year-old vehicles will also not be done in Chhattisgarh. No permits will be given to autos which are more than 10 years old in Raipur, Durg- Bhilai and Bilaspur, the meeting was informed.
The auto owners will be given one-year period to convert the autos to e-Rickshaws. After this expiry period, the owners will not be given permits.
later in the meeting, CECB Chairperson Aman Kumar Singh gave a detailed presentation of the pollution control steps being taken in Raipur.
Chief Minister Raman Singh called upon the senior officers to prepare a master plan to curb pollution. Several crucial decisions were taken at the meeting. Proposals to ban old vehicles and shutting down industrial units spreading pollution were accepted.
He added that Online monitoring of pollution levels of industrial units should be done. If the managements of units violate guidelines more than twice a month then steps should be taken to close down the defaulting industrial units.
Singh directed the Raipur district administration officials to prepare a master plan to handle solid waste material soon.
On the other hand, it was also informed in the meeting that the squatters near the railway tracks will be provided with domestic gas connections free- of- cost under the Prime Minister Ujjwala Projects to curb coal induced smoke pollution. A survey will be conducted soon in this regard.
The Chief Minister ordered the officials to launch a survey soon. There is a plan to plant 23.90 lakh saplings in the monsoon season in the capital.
He instructed the officers to install a Sewage Treatment Plant in Raipur to treat domestic polluted water.
It may be recalled that a two-member team of experts from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai will study pollution levels in 25 kms periphery of the city.
The IIT team comprising Prof Anil K .Dixit and Indrakant Jha had visited Raipur on June 13 this year.
The experts had an interaction with the local industrialists and the officials of the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) at new Circuit House here after their arrival. The experts informed that this is a preliminary round of their meeting. In the meeting held, a proforma was handed over to the local industrialists by the experts to seek necessary information for conducting the study.
During the meeting, CECB Member Secretary Devendra Singh appealed to the industrialists to carry out as much plantations as possible by planting atleast 1,000 saplings in one acre of land.
The IIT team informed in the meeting that the study would be carried out in three phases- In the first phase- 5 kms of city’s periphery will be studied followed by 10 kms and then 25 kms of the periphery.
The Chhattisgarh Government has drawn up a solid action plan which will help Raipur city to overcome pollution menace over the next two years, Aman Kumar Singh, Chairman of Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) had stated last month.
Singh had 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.
“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.