GB Nagar bans all construction work, except of Jewar airport and hospitals

The ban was enforced after it was brought to the notice of the district magistrate that there was large-scale flouting of Grap Stage 3 restrictions

Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma, after the district environment committee meeting on Wednesday, ordered a ban on all ongoing construction work in the district, except the construction of the Noida international airport in Jewar and hospitals.

With deteriorating AQI in Noida, residents have started wearing face masks. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The ban was enforced after it was brought to the notice of the district magistrate that there was large-scale flouting of restrictions imposed under Stage 3 of the graded response action plan (Grap) to rein in the hazardous pollution levels in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).

Besides the ban on construction, directions have also been issued to the traffic and transport departments to ensure compliance with the ban on the plying of BS-3 petrol and BS-4 diesel vehicles, imposed last Wednesday.

Verma said, “It has been brought to my notice that despite restrictions imposed on constructions under Grap, the rules are being flouted as many small-scale constructions are still ongoing, especially in Greater Noida, which has been battling severe AQI levels for around 15 days now.”

On Thursday too, Greater Noida emerged as the most polluted city in the country for a fifth time in the past seven days, with an air quality index (AQI) of 439 (severe) and fine particulate matter (PM)2.5 being the main pollutant, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)’s daily bulletin.

Noida saw a marginal improvement with an AQI of 394 (very poor) on Thursday, down from an AQI of 405 (severe) on Wednesday, with PM10 being the main pollutant, the CPCB data showed.

“Instructions have been issued to the representatives of the industries and builders that no construction activity is permitted except that of Noida international airport in Jewar and the construction work of hospitals. Directions have been issued to ensure anti-pollution measures are taken up at respective sites in accordance with Grap guidelines,” said Verma, adding that violators of the ban will attract substantial fines.

Among the areas where air pollution norms are being violated in large numbers in Greater Noida are Knowledge Park 5, Ecotech 3, Khairpur village, and Eco Village 1, said district officials. Aside from the construction work, roads in Greater Noida West have disappeared under dust clouds owing to the piling of mud and concrete waste on the roadside.

Regional officer, UPPCB, Greater Noida, Deo K Gupta said, “We have been constantly monitoring construction activities in the city and taking up measures to settle the dust. However, weather conditions also play a crucial role in improving/worsening the air quality. As winter is approaching, the meteorological factors will keep pollutants trapped close to the ground.”

On Thursday, the Greater Noida UPPCB imposed a fine of ₹1.5 lakh on three construction activities found in Knowledge Park 3 area, Gupta said.

In Noida, though dust mitigation measures such as water sprinkling are being carried out along arterial roads, residents said link roads to prominent areas are not being covered by the exercise.

“The main areas are being covered under the dust mitigation exercises and water is being sprinkled using tankers, however, the link roads are being ignored and mud and other waste litter the roadsides,” said Sushil Kumar Jain, president, Sector 18 market association.

“Besides work being carried out by the departments, the three additional district magistrates have been appointed as nodal officers for better monitoring on the ground,” said UPPCB regional officer, Noida, Utsav Sharma.

To curb vehicular emissions, the district magistrate directed the traffic police and transport departments to conduct joint enforcement drives against the banned BS-3 (petrol) and BS-4 (diesel) vehicles and ensure that these are not plying on roads.

Deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Anil Kumar Yadav said, “We will be intensifying enforcement against vehicles that add to air pollution. On Tuesday, as many as 5,135 fines were issued of which 298 were against vehicles that did not have pollution under control (PUC) certificates.”

Greater Noida based environmentalist Vikrant Tongad said, “The predominant winds are blowing at a speed of 4-8km/hour from the northwest, bringing in pollutants from neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab where biomass burning is taking place. The impact is the most in Greater Noida which is comparatively colder than Noida and other NCR cities owing to more greenery and lesser traffic.”