HSPCB penalises 14 construction sites in Gurugram over dust pollution

Haryana's pollution board fined 14 construction sites in Gurugram for failing to monitor dust control. Heavy penalties for violations enforced.

Gurugram: The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) imposed environment compensation fines on 14 construction sites and projects on Friday for failing to install and operate web cameras to monitor dust mitigation norms, officials said.

The action comes after the board issued notices to over 58 sites in Gurugram and 217 sites in Manesar last week. (HT)

The action comes after the board issued notices to over 58 sites in Gurugram and 217 sites in Manesar last week.

According to officials, the fined construction sites are above 500 square meters in size.

“The sites and projects have been directed to ensure their monitoring links on the portal are functional. Strict action will continue against violators to ensure effective implementation of environmental safeguards and improvement of air and water quality,” said Akansha Tanwar, regional officer of HSPCB in Gurugram’s north region.

Construction sites of sizes up to 20,000 square meters are required to pay ₹20,000 for each violation and projects above 20,000 square meters are mandated to pay ₹40,000 for every count of camera blackouts, a senior board official said.

Minister for industries and forest Rao Narbir Singh said heavy penalties will be imposed on people carrying out any illegal activities.

Officials added that the project owners are mandated to upload self-audit reports of sites on a fortnightly basis. “A properly functioning web link is mandatory for monitoring purposes. Mandatory 15 of 29 criteria are required to be submitted through self-audit sheets, including the status of PM2.5 and PM10 sensors and a video fencing link connected to a cloud storage platform for round-the-clock monitoring,” another senior official said.

On Friday, around 1,261 construction sites with a size of above 500 sq. meters in Gurugram registered on HSPCB’s dust monitoring portal submitted 9,821 reports. Of these, 3,989 were pending board’s approval, while 3,543 were accepted and 2,188 rejected. The developers have been directed to submit the fines within a week, officials said.

The board also conducted a drive against single-use plastic (SUP) in Shivaji Park and Jail Land Complex on Thursday and recovered 169 kg of banned plastic materials from distributors. An illegally operating dyeing unit without the board’s permission was also sealed.