Gurgaon: MCG forms panel to monitor industrial emission

The formation of the committee comes after the Environment Pollution Control Authority and Central Pollution Control Board asked the civic body to comply with NGT’s Vardhaman Kaushik case order.

In a bid to improve the ambient air quality, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) formed a committee on Monday to monitor whether city-based industries are following air quality norms under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

The air quality in Gurgaon had slipped to ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ in the last three months. (HT File)

Non-compliance with environmental norms means closure of industries, the MCG said .

“The committee is working on the directives issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the Vardhaman Kaushik case. Earlier, our focus was only on waste burning, but now, we are monitoring small scale industries that are also responsible in contributing to air pollution in the region,” Vivek Kalia, joint commissioner, MCG, said.

Earlier, the MCG had inspected industries located in Kadipur area and three of them were sent notices as they were found violating environment norms. The MCG was informed about the polluting units by residents living in the vicinity of the units, Kalia said.

The formation of the committee comes after the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) asked the civic body to comply with NGT’s Vardhaman Kaushik case order, November 2016, to improve ambient air quality in Delhi-NCR.

“The committee will prepare a report that will be submitted to the EPCA and the CPCB,” Kalia said. He said any industry that is found operating without adhering to the provisions of the Act will be cut off from power and water supply. Also, the other services and licences will also be cancelled if dust and water pollution norms are not followed by the industries, he said.

The MCG will operate jointly with the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) in monitoring the industrial units. “After finishing the report, the MCG will share it with the HSPCB so that they can take a final call,” Kalia said.