Construction and demolition waste vehicles to fit cameras, GPS

Documents accessed by HT showed that the policy was approved by chief secretary Vijay Dev on Thursday and an order making the rules public is likely to be issued this week by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

In a first for the state, the Delhi government is planning to mandate that vehicles carrying construction and demolition (C&D) waste be fitted with GPS devices and cameras, senior government officials said on Saturday. The rule, aimed at curbing unlawful C&D waste disposal, will also make it compulsory for such vehicles, which will be tracked in real-time, to get a separate registration certificate from the civic bodies for operations.

The rule, aimed at curbing unlawful C&D waste disposal, will also make it compulsory for such vehicles, which will be tracked in real-time, to get a separate registration certificate from the civic bodies for operations. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Documents accessed by HT showed that the policy was approved by chief secretary Vijay Dev on Thursday and an order making the rules public is likely to be issued this week by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). The move comes at a time when the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Thursday issued notices to several central and state government agencies in the Capital for not adhering to rules related to construction, demolition and disposal of debris or “malba”.

‘Sanitation crisis ahead if AAP dues remain unpaid’: Delhi’s mayors

A senior official in the DPCC who requested anonymity said the policy is a targeted step towards reducing pollution.

“As on date, Delhi has no mechanism to take action against the owner/person responsible for dumping debris at unauthorised places. Also, there is no monitoring system in place to track the vehicles being used to collect and dump C&D waste. Most of these polluting vehicles are diesel trucks,” the official said.

The directions, once issued, will also allow only CNG fuel-based goods vehicles to be registered for this purpose. Even the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has been asked to “immediately’ discontinue the use of tractor based septage waste collection trucks as it was found to be in contravention of the Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules, the documents read.

Six AAP MLAs detained ahead of protest outside Amit Shah, L-G’s residences

“Any motor vehicle proposed to be used for the purpose of collection and disposal of C&D waste in Delhi will require registration from the civic agencies in the area under whose jurisdiction it is proposed to be operated. Any goods vehicle proposed to be used for carrying C&D waste will have to be fitted with a GPS monitoring system from an authorised vendor of the transport department. The feed of GPS will be received at the joint control room of the MCDs for proper monitoring. There shall be live tracking of all vehicles used for this purpose,” it stated.

The rules have been drafted by a “working group” constituted by the chief secretary on September 30 this year. The committee is headed by secretary-cum-commissioner (transport) Manisha Saxena and comprises officials from the Public Works Department, East Delhi Municipal Corporation, DJB and state transport and urban development departments as members.

“The committee observed that often these vehicles dump the waste along roadsides during the wee hours of the night. The MCDs are likely to charge a nominal fee to issue the registration certificates to these vehicles that will be approved only after a GPS device is fitted and a camera installed at the back,” an EDMC official said.

The officers of junior engineers ranks and above in MCDs and PWD, and the officers of the rank of assistant sub-inspector of the transport department have been authorised to impose fines on defaulting vehicle owners under these directions. The penalty for any violation will be Rs 20,000 in the first instance, extending up to ₹1 lakh under the Environment Protection Act. Vehicle permits will be liable to be suspended or cancelled after three successive violations, the draft order read.

Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) called the upcoming rules “an important step towards eliminating illegal dumping of C&D waste that causes pollution as well as environmental damage.”

“Electronic monitoring of trucks carrying C&D, proper registration of trucks, centralised monitoring, geo-fencing of operations, and high penalties are important to control illegal littering and promote an efficient collection of waste for recycling and material recovery,” she said. She, however, pointed out that this should be supported by an adequately dense network of collection points to reduce distances from construction sites. Delhi has over 168 designated sites for the dumping of C&D waste.