Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) is all set to keep a tab on sound pollution caused by crackers on Diwali. Board Chairman Dev Dutt Sharma said on Friday that the board has written letters to the administration across the State to take strict action against repeat offenders. However, he admitted that the Board’s effort of not spoiling festive mood by imposing little too harsh regulation left people taking its directives for granted.
“I believe we must bank on awareness and personal conscience, which has appeared delivering, than penalty which remains a tedious process. Sound pollution has decreased in recent years due to public awareness drives, and we are aggressively focusing on that part,” said Sharma.
In a letter sent to all the DCs in the State, the Board has directed them to monitor the sound pollution level during Diwali. The Board has capped sound level in silent zones at 50 decibel during day and 40 decibel in night. The Board has said that in residential areas, the sound level must not exceed 55 decibel during day and 45 decibel in night. At the same time, any sound above 65 decibel during day and 55 decibel in night in commercial areas would be considered offensive. Day hours have been defined during 6:00 AM-10:00 PM, while rest of the 24 hours would be considered night hours.
Member Secretary of the Board Sanjay Kumar Suman said that analysts of the board would be present across the State. “We have decided to deploy over a dozen analysts in the capital at different pre-defined and demarcated locations. These analysts have been asked to monitor air and sound pollution in the area and to prepare reports, which will be sent to DCs after festival,” said Suman.
However, the bigger question is that despite strict directive from the board, offenders don’t appear to care.
“This is only partially true. For the last 2-3 years, our data reflects considerable amount of reduction in sound pollution. A couple of years ago, you might not even gather courage to cross Firayalal Chowk (Albert Ekka Chowk) during peak hours on Diwali evening. But situation has changed during past two years. Good thing is that people have started understanding their responsibilities,” added Suman.
“We have sent huge number of letters to DCs based on our monitoring system. However, they have their own priorities. Again, these are one or two-day affairs, which don’t add as much damage to environment as many other things like industries on daily basis put. So, I must say that we are going step by step. It’s a matter of couple more Diwalis that you will see sound pollution going down by itself,” added Sharma, who is going to superannuate from his post very next day of this Diwali.