Gzb admin announces ‘clean air plan’ from September 25

Ghaziabad: In order to tackle air pollution that usually hits the NCR during the winter months, the Ghaziabad district administration has chalked out a ‘clean air

Ghaziabad: In order to tackle air pollution that usually hits the NCR during the winter months, the Ghaziabad district administration has chalked out a ‘clean air plan’, which will come into force from September 25.

HT Image

The plan will be in addition to steps warranted under the graded response action plan (GRAP) that kicks in whenever the air quality in the city enters the ‘severe plus’ category and remains there for a continuous 48 hours. The district magistrate said the plan will be monitored on a weekly basis and information to citizens about air quality and weather will be provided on social media.

The district officials have directed all relevant departments such as the pollution control board, public works department, municipal corporation, Ghaziabad Development Authority and the local bodies to gear up for the ‘clean air plan’. He added that the plan will have short-term and long-term measures to be implemented under a given time frame.

“Under the short-term measures, which will be implemented from September 25, we will start with mechanised road sweeping, water sprinkling on dusty stretches, mechanised lifting of solid waste, repair of broken roads, enforcement against brick kilns and stubble burning, besides stricter implementation of construction guidelines as directed by the National Green Tribunal,” Dr Ajay Shankar Pandey, district magistrate, said.

“Further, the departments have been asked to figure out the pollution hot spots where garbage burning and dumping are rampant. The fire department has been alerted to tackle fires at solid waste dumping sites while teams will regularly visit the pollution hot spots to conduct checks. The pollution control centres for vehicles will also be checked regularly and strict action against overloaded vehicles will be taken. The monitoring of the plan will be from district headquarters on a weekly basis,” he said.

Under the long-term plan, Pandey has directed the development authority and other agencies to prepare plans for decongesting roads with the help of new mechanised parking, increasing the green cover and by getting industrial units to switch over to cleaner fuel.

Last winter, the city’s air quality index (AQI) went above 400 — on a scale of 0 to 500, with 0 denoting the least polluted air — on a number of occasions, despite the steps taken at the local level.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.

According to data with the UP pollution control board, the AQI at four locations — site 4, Bulandshahr Road industrial area, Kohda and Lohiya Nagar — stood at an average of 236, 198, 233 and 173, respectively, for the first seven months of 2018.

The AQI improved and an average of 200, 183, 160 and 148 were recorded, respectively, at the four locations during the first seven months of 2019.

“The city has witnessed a major spike in pollution levels during winter over the past three to four years. There is rampant garbage burning, besides vehicular pollution in Ghaziabad. The plan should be put in place at the earliest and it should complement the strict action and penalties. Otherwise the drive will lose its sting,” Vikrant Sharma, a city-based environmentalist, said.

According to the UP pollution control board, Ghaziabad city is listed under the 15 non-attainment cities in Uttar Pradesh which have the highest levels of pollution.