Violation of anti-pollution norms to be handled with strict penalty: Govt

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change said that CAQM will ensure strict enforcement of its statutory directions and orders, and violations and non-compliance of directions will attract closure orders along with the imposition of environmental compensation cess and prosecution.

The Commission for Air Quality Management in Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas (CAQM) has directed all stakeholders including industries and project proponents of construction and demolition (C&D) sites to strictly follow its statutory directions in the coming days to avoid prosecution and penalties.

Indian commuters drive amidst heavy smog along a road in New Delhi on January 17, 2019. Smog levels spike during winter in Delhi, when air quality often eclipses the World Health Organization's safe levels. Cooler air traps pollutants -- such as from vehicles, building sites and farmers burning crops in regions outside the Indian capital -- close to the ground. (Photo by XAVIER GALIANA / AFP) (AFP)

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change said that CAQM will ensure strict enforcement of its statutory directions and orders, and violations and non-compliance of directions will attract closure orders along with the imposition of environmental compensation cess and prosecution.

The commission also urged citizens to strictly follow steps highlighted in the ‘citizen’s charter’ in each stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) earnestly in the coming days.

“CAQM has advised the state implementing agencies including the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to ensure compliance and strict implementation of the directions issued by the commission,” the statement said.

Grap prescribes a list of curbs that are meant to be implemented as the air pollution levels in Delhi hit certain trigger points. The restrictions get stricter as AQI worsens. The updated plan, released by CAQM on July 13, now takes into account AQI, and not just PM2.5 and PM10 levels as triggers for the curbs and also focuses on action before air quality deteriorates.

The plan is categorised into stages. Under stage one (air quality is in the ‘poor category’), 24 measures will have to be enforced on the ground: Agencies must sprinkle water on roads and sweep them with machines; work must be stopped at all construction and demolition projects with an area of over 500 square metres that have not registered themselves on the state government’s web portal; fines are levied on C&D sites and visibly polluting vehicles; diesel generators can no longer be used as a regular power source and are allowed only as a backup, among other measures.

Stage-2 is imposed when the air quality is “very poor” (between 301 and 400), stage 3 when it is “severe” (between 401 and 450), and stage 4 when AQI is in “severe plus” (above 450).

The environment ministry said on Saturday that 40 inspection teams and flying squads are also conducting inspections and rigorously monitoring enforcement.

“These flying squads will conduct surprise inspections and field level incognito checks at industrial units, C&D sites, commercial and residential units, air pollution hotspots, etc. These flying squads will widely cover all parts of the Delhi-NCR to track down violators and report the details to the commission for stringent actions against them,” the ministry said in the statement.

As of October 14, more than 8,580 sites were inspected by the CAQM flying squads and closure directions were issued to 491 defaulters--110 in Delhi, 118 in Haryana, 211 in Uttar Pradesh and 52 in Rajasthan (NCR).

Delhi’s AQI has stayed in the moderate category (AQI between 101-200) category in the past one week, shows CPCB data. However, on Saturday the air quality was recorded in the poor category (AQI between 201-300) at several monitoring stations.