Bad air: 9 districts from Delhi among 37 flagged by NGT

The panel looked into sources polluting the air in the region and identified 37 “sensitive” districts in the Indo-Gangetic Plains

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday asked the environment ministry and the Central Pollution Board (CPCB) to classify 37 districts across the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) as “Air Quality Sensitive Districts”, based on the report of an expert committee it appointed in 2021.

A smoggy morning at Red Fort. (Reuters)

The panel looked into sources polluting the air in the region and identified 37 “sensitive” districts. The list includes nine districts from Delhi, 11 from Haryana including Faridabad and Gurugram, and 13 from Uttar Pradesh including Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar.

The nine Delhi districts identified were north, northeast, northwest, central, east, New Delhi, southwest, west, and south. A bench headed by NGT chairperson said polluting sources in these districts need to be identified, and a modified consent to operate (CTO) needs to be granted again for industries with operational restrictions in the nature of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap).

A CTO is issued by the state pollution control board and indicates that the unit is not polluting and complies with existing norms. Grap is a set of emergency measures which triggers when the air quality crosses certain thresholds.

NGT also said the environment ministry and CPCB may enforce the need for cleaner fuels, switching to efficient air pollution-controlling technologies, and city or district-specific action plans within six months. “The vulnerable districts may be listed as “Air Quality Sensitive Districts” and the polluting sources may be closely monitored...” said the order, dated March 27.

NGT formed a joint panel comprising members from the environment ministry, state pollution control board, district magistrates, and experts.

To identify these districts, the CPCB’s annual PM 2.5 data for 2019 was considered, the green bench said. They were identified based on average annual PM 2.5 concentration.

The tribunal was hearing a plea as part of a seven-year-old case in which the petitioner alleged that the hot mix plants in Noida were operating beyond the carrying capacity of the ambient air of the area.

A CPCB official, when contacted, said they will study the NGT order and convene a meeting with the environment ministry soon. “All directions issued by NGT are being studied. We will call a meeting soon to issue further directions for these districts,” the official said.