Gurugram’s new committee to focus on long-term strategy to reduce pollution

Reducing vehicle pollution, dust mitigation, increasing the number of water bodies and afforestation will be the prime focus of the committee, Yash Garg, deputy commissioner of Gurugram, said on Thursday

The district-level committee on pollution announced by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday has been tasked with devising long-term strategies and adopting short-term measures to mitigate pollution in Gurugram. The committee will seek suggestions from residents and experts who want to contribute to this issue, said Yash Garg, deputy commissioner of Gurugram, who will head the panel.

Haryana CM ML Khattar announced the formation of this committee after the issue of rising pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) came up for discussion during a grievance redressal meeting in Gurugram on Wednesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

Officials said the committee will be formed within a week.

Reducing vehicle pollution, dust mitigation, increasing the number of water bodies and afforestation will be the prime focus of the committee, he said on Thursday.

Khattar announced the formation of this committee after the issue of rising pollution in the National Capital Region (NCR) came up for discussion during a grievance redressal meeting in Gurugram on Wednesday. The chief minister said the committee will comprise senior engineers from all civic agencies and different departments.

“The resources and technical knowledge of different agencies will be combined. Efforts will be made to find long-term and permanent solutions for this problem. We are planning to increase green cover, take permanent measures to reduce dust on roads, and also focus on reducing vehicular pollution and creating more ponds,” said Garg.

Reclaiming of water bodies and ponds will also be key objectives of the committee, apart from creating more such water bodies to improve moisture in the air and help reduce pollution, he said.

The deputy commissioner also said that engineers and technical personnel from different agencies, who are decision-makers, will be key members of the committee. “We will also be seeking suggestions and ideas from city residents and experts to resolve this issue. The prime objective is to bring down local pollution to a minimum,” he said.

With a dip in temperature and an increase in farm fires, Gurugram’s air quality shot up into the “severe” category after Diwali (which was celebrated on November 4) and has since then improved to “very poor”, leading to the suspension of offline classes in schools and colleges and the temporary closure of industrial units not using CNG or PNG as fuel. Gurugram’s Air Quality Index (AQI) reading was recorded at 323 on Thursday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin, and the situation is likely to remain the same until there is an improvement in wind speed.