Delhi pollution: North MCD draws ₹515 crore plan to curb road dust

Under the plan, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation will repair unpaved roads in areas such as the Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, a freight hub, and buy more mechanical sweepers

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has formulated a five-year, ₹515-crore pollution mitigation plan that includes relaying unpaved roads in areas such as the Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, a freight hub, and buying more mechanical sweepers -- steps that are primarily aimed at curbing dust pollution in the areas managed by the civic body.

The north civic body maintains the largest geographical area in the city (604.54 sq km out of 1484 sq km) among the three municipal bodies.

Last month, a study of air quality across 39 monitoring stations in the capital by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) showed that the top six areas that recorded worst air quality between November 1 and 8 were under the North civic body. Overall, 16 of the 39 areas came under the North MCD.

The north civic body maintains the largest geographical area in the city (604.54 sq km out of 1484 sq km) among the three municipal bodies.

A senior civic body official who is aware of the plan said that the corporation plans to buy equipment such as mechanical sweepers, anti-smog guns and road repair machines worth Rs25.44 crore.

The official explained that the funds for the project will be managed through urban development fund (that is given by the central government) and money received under the national clean air action plan. “We have assessed our needs in terms of the area that needs to be covered and we will need more mechanical road sweepers, anti-smog guns and road repair machines,” a second official who oversees the anti-pollution drives said.

The official said that the North MCD plans to procure six mechanical road sweepers, 12 truck-mounted anti-smog guns, 6 CNG trucks mounted anti-smog guns and one automatic road patch repair machine. The north corporation currently operates a fleet of 18 mechanical road sweepers and 128 water sprinkling tankers.

Dust remains one of the key pollution components in Delhi. A study by the IIT Kanpur has shown that dust from roads, digging and agriculture accounts for the highest suspended particulate matter sources in Delhi, contributing 38% of PM2.5 and 56% of PM10 in Delhi. It is estimated that more than 131 tonnes of dust is generated everyday in Delhi with construction sites, loose soil, road dust and poorly maintained roads being some of the key contributing factors.

The mitigation plan, a copy of which has been seen by HT, incorporates the need for upgrade and maintenance of 15 decentralized waste management facilities and existing machinery/equipment over the next five years.

Some of the most dust pollution prone areas include Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar Phase-2, Kailash Park, Manohar park, Moti Nagar, Kirti Nagar, Ram Nagar and several unpaved stretches in Narela region, civic officials said.

With close proximity to the Sanjay Gandhi transport Nagar, Alipur has emerged as a new pollution hot spot, the first official explained.

“Under phase-2 of the project, ₹58.5 crore revamp of Sanjay Gandhi transport Nagar has been proposed. A, B, C block and phase 1 are being covered in the on-going phase for which funds have been received from central urban development fund and work orders worth ₹50.33 crore have recently been issued,” the official added.

Chhail Bihari Goswami, the leader of the house in North MCD, did not comment.