Dedicated MCD team set up to oversee air pollution control around Anand Vihar ISBT

Each of the three teams will have five members from the MCD — including one member from its enforcement cell — and one each from the Delhi Police and the traffic police, for a total of seven members.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has set up a dedicated interdepartmental team to monitor air pollution reduction measures around Anand Vihar ISBT, officials said on Wednesday, adding that the teams will comprise of officials from the MCD, Delhi Police and traffic police. The teams will work in collaboration with the transport department.

The teams will patrol the area in three shifts — 6:00 am to 2:00 pm, 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and 10:00 pm to 6:00 am.

Speaking to HT, an MCD official said that the Anand Vihar ISBT area was chosen because it has been a pollution hot spot for a long time.

The teams will patrol the area in three shifts — 6:00 am to 2:00 pm, 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. Each of the three teams will have five members from the MCD — including one member from its enforcement cell — and one each from the Delhi Police and the traffic police, for a total of seven members.The official clarified that while officials from the transport department will not be a part of the teams, the team will work alongside transport department officials.

“They will ensure that pollution reduction measures are being carried out regularly, such as water sprinkling, and make sure that no violations of construction norms and of the rules under Graded Response Action Plan stage 3 are occurring,” the MCD official quoted above added.

He added that the teams will identify if there are any actions which need to be taken, such as the fixing of broken tiles which add to dust, or proper sweeping of the area.

Additionally, the teams will have to submit a daily report to the deputy commissioner of the MCD’s Shahdara South Zone who has issued the orders for this.

Anand Vihar is among the 13 pollution hot spots identified jointly by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2018, based on the annual PM2.5 concentration, which is higher than Delhi’s mean PM2.5. The other hot spots are Mundka, Wazirpur, Jahangirpuri, RK Puram, Rohini, Punjabi Bagh, Okhla, Bawana, Vivek Vihar, Narela, Ashok Vihar and Dwarka.

This is due to the combined presence of the ISBT, a railway station, and a metro station on one side, along with the Ghaziabad bus terminal across the border. High traffic movement in the area adds to the pollution.

HT had earlier reported that during periods in October this year the rest of the city was registering a lower AQI, Anand Vihar consistently recorded a much higher AQI. On October 13, when Delhi’s average AQI was 189 (’moderate’), Anand Vihar’s monitor registered 346 – deep in the “very poor” zone. Over the next week, even as citywide levels crept from “moderate” to “poor,” Anand Vihar’s numbers hovered more than 100 points higher, sliding from “very poor” to “severe. The area’s 24-hour average AQI on Wednesday was 442, well in the “severe” category.