E-Paper
Govt wants select areas of Gurugram exempted from genset ban
Gurugram The Haryana government has requested the Environmental Pollution Control Authority (Epca) to exempt certain residential and commercial areas of the city
Gurugram The Haryana government has requested the Environmental Pollution Control Authority (Epca) to exempt certain residential and commercial areas of the city from the ban on diesel generators. Officials said that these areas, particularly Sector 58 and beyond, do not have a regular power supply.
The Supreme Court-appointed Epca had issued directions on October 9, banning the use of diesel generators in New Delhi and across the National Capital Region (NCR), including Gurugram and Faridabad, on days when the air quality is ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’, as per the Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index (AQI), from October 15.
Emergency services, such as hospitals and elevators in condominiums, were likely to be excluded from the ban, but there has not been any exception so far.
Noting that the ban on the use of diesel generators would have a “scaling and a massive impact on supply of power to lakhs of consumers”, the superintendent (power), the government of Haryana, sought six months to provide connections to users dependent on diesel generators.
The letter, dated October 11, asked the Epca for a relaxation of the ban for a period of six months in Sector 58 and beyond. The matter is scheduled to be discussed in a meeting of the Epca and the state government on Friday.
“The power infrastructure in both Gurugram and Faridabad is still inadequate and we have been pushing for an exemption under the ban. However, Epca members have said it is unlikely that the areas would be exempt. A case for the same was also presented in the National Green Tribunal on Tuesday but wasn’t considered by the tribunal,” a Haryana government official, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
The state government, in its letter to the Epca, had also asked for “relaxation of the ban for certain areas that suffer from inadequate electrical infrastructure on account of defaulting builders/developers, such as Sectors 1-57 and the areas that suffer from distribution constraints, such as Sector 58 and beyond.”
Officials of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) said they have not received any communication about the exemption. “We are expecting a list of exemptions to be sent on Wednesday. The government worries that many public services in Gurugram are dependent on diesel generators and it (a ban) would have a major impact,” said S Narayanan, member secretary, HSPCB.
Bhure Lal, chairman, Epca, said the Haryana government has asked for exemptions in Gurugram and Faridabad. “As of Tuesday, we haven’t relaxed any directions,” he said. Lal added that a meeting will be held on Friday to discuss why the governments are failing to comply with the directions.
The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) had, last week, asked the Epca to consider exempting residential and commercial societies, on the grounds said that it would be impossible to implement the ban on short notice.
Gurugram has at least 10,552 diesel generator sets in at least 3,000 commercial and residential entities, according to the information given by the office of the electrical inspectorate in 2017.
At present, the ban on diesel generators is likely to continue till March 15, 2020.
