An extensive ground-level campaign to check illegal and unregistered construction activities in the national capital is underway, and so far 185 construction sites have been inspected by 33 field teams as part of the pollution mitigation measures.
Delhi’s Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has asserted that every ongoing project must be mandatorily registered on DPCC’s ‘Dust Portal’ to ensure proper monitoring.
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The Delhi government is taking stringent measures to improve the national capital’s air quality, he said.
On Saturday, Sirsa, at the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) headquarters, chaired a comprehensive review meeting with senior officials, field officers and engineers, regarding actions taken to control dust pollution arising from construction activities.
A crucial decision was also taken to ensure data sharing among all major agencies like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), NDMC, DDA, PWD, DMRC and others, in a bid to enable real-time, centralized monitoring of construction sites through an integrated portal.
Sirsa also instructed the formation of a special monitoring team and directed officials to increase the number of advanced air-quality inspection devices.
“Our sole focus is on keeping Delhi’s air clean,” he said, adding that during the recent days there has been an improvement in AQI levels after Diwali, and the goal now is to build on that progress and make the improvement sustainable.
The DPCC Officials briefed the minister about them having a target of covering over 500 construction sites by October 30, and notices have been served to sites yet to register, instructing an immediate halt to work until formal registration is completed.
All departments were directed to expedite field actions, strengthen waste management, and maintain strict vigilance against violators.
As per DPCC guidelines, unregistered construction sites may face penalties ranging between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.
While the GRAP (Graded Response Action Plan) is in effect, any violation detected will attract double penalties, the minister said.
As per officials, the action taken under GRAP guidelines during the last 24 hours include deployment of 376 anti-smog guns, 266 water sprinklers, and 91 road-sweeping machines deployed, while nearly 3,000 km of roads were cleaned.
Around 311 inspections of illegal waste dumping sites were conducted, and 173 violations acted upon.
A total of 3,717 challans have been issued for vehicles without valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, and 31 vehicles were fined for visible emissions.
In the meanwhile, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) on Saturday was at 292 which is on the upper end in the “poor” category, according to the data from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
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