No ‘good’ days during Grap period in Ghaziabad, city mostly suffered ‘very poor’ AQI days

Ghaziabad: During the entire period of the graded response action plan (Grap) when heightened measures were taken up to control air pollution from October 15 to March 5, Ghaziabad experienced no “good” days in the period of 140 days

Ghaziabad: During the entire period of the graded response action plan (Grap) when heightened measures were taken up to control air pollution from October 15 to March 5, Ghaziabad experienced no “good” days in the period of 140 days. During the period, the city suffered 33 days under the ‘severe’ category and 74 under ‘very poor’ which are considered high levels in terms of air quality index (AQI), figures of the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) have revealed .

HT Image

As per the UPPCB figures, only one day was under ‘satisfactory’ category, 10 under ‘moderate’ and 23 under the ‘poor’ AQI during the said period.

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’.

The official figures indicate that water sprinkling on a total of 4,344km of different road stretches was taken up, besides roads of nearly 3,530km were also taken up for mechanical sweeping every week.

As regards the enforcement, about 13,962 inspections were taken up and notices served to 395 erring persons or establishments, and 148 FIRs were lodged. Besides, penalty of ₹1.97 crore was imposed against different defaulters for spreading pollution.

“The impact of air pollution has also been as a result of meteorological conditions. Besides, due to increase in traffic due to diversions in trans-Hindon areas, our two monitoring stations at Indirapuram and Vasundhara were high on pollution levels. We are working on a plan under which ₹60 crore was received by the municipal corporation,” said Utsav Sharma, regional officer of UPPCB.

The traffic diversions in trans-Hindon have been in place since November when the protesting farmers arrived at the UP Gate and are camping there since then.

“The Grap is generally observed from October 15 to February 15. This year, we have received directions from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on March 5 for lifting of ban on diesel generator sets. So, we are assuming that Grap has ended on March 5. The CPCB has also issued more directions which we need to take up regularly,” Sharma added.

Akash Vashishtha, a city-based environmentalist, said that the pollution levels have been high during the winter season. “This is happening continuously for the past 4-5 years and officials have no clues whatsoever to deal with the situation. More ground level enforcement and a comprehensive study on wind pattern, changing meteorological conditions and contribution of sources, is must to deal with the situation,” Vashishtha said.

In its directions, the CPCB has asked the state agencies to ensure that large construction sites adhere to norms and stringent actions should continue with special emphasis to hotspot areas.

The funds of ₹60 crore received by the municipal corporation are specifically devoted to air pollution abatement measures. “Our work with regard to the funds is under tendering process. Further, we are also expecting to receive 50 electric buses from the state government once the infrastructure gets complete by April. The buses will largely help in reduce pollution, besides providing safe journey for local commuters,” said MS Tanwar, municipal commissioner.