Grap comes into play, no diesel genset exemption for Gurugram

Measures to curb pollution in the city during winter, under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), will come into force today. In a first, there will be a blanket

Measures to curb pollution in the city during winter, under the Graded Response Action Plan (Grap), will come into force today. In a first, there will be a blanket ban on diesel gensets, said officials, with no exemptions except for essential services detailed by the Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA).

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In a letter to the chief secretary, Haryana, on Wednesday, EPCA chairman Bhure Lal mentioned that diesel gensets can only be used in hospitals and nursing homes, for elevators and escalators, by railway, metro, bus and airport services until Grap is in place. “You are requested to issue directions to implementing agencies to ensure enforcement of DG set ban except for above cited reasons... Sincere efforts must be made to ensure that the ban is effective and monitored rigorously.”

Several housing complexes and condominiums across Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat, Panipat and Bahadurgarh districts are reliant on diesel gensets for electricity, in the absence of power connections from the state agency, and also power backup. Besides, industries are also reliant on power backup to ensure continuous production.

While neither the Haryana state government nor the district administration of Gurugram issued any order till late Wednesday specifically addressing the ban on diesel gensets, officials of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) said it will most definitely be implemented, with regional officers assigned the responsibility for enforcement.

A spokesperson for EPCA said, “We are a regulatory body. We have drawn up the plan and laid out of the mandate, but it is up to the state government to ensure that diesel gensets are not allowed to operate, in addition to other directions given by EPCA. What instrument they choose to use to surveil for violations, and enforce the mandate, is entirely up to them.”

Kuldeep SIngh, HSPCB’s regional officer for Gurugram, said, “We have assigned five assistant environmental engineers as team leads, who will conduct site inspections of construction sites, condominiums, commercial complexes and so on, starting this week. If we find any DG set running, we will take appropriate action against the violator.”

First drafted in 2016 by EPCA, and then implemented in 2017, the Grap prescribes four sets of measures, depending on the severity of air pollution. Every year on October 15, the measures for ‘poor’ and ‘severe’ air quality come into play.

However, due to the inadequacy of the power department’s infrastructure to supply uninterrupted power to satellite towns in the National Capital Region (NCR), EPCA had until last year exempted Gurugram (and other NCR districts) from the ban on diesel gensets. In Delhi, on the other hand, the ban has been implemented every year, with the Delhi Pollution Control Committee taking the reigns on enforcement.

However, this year, the order, which followed a meeting of the HSPCB with Bhure Lal, chairman of EPCA, on September 28, mentions clearly that diesel generator use will have to be regulated during winter. The Grap measures will be in force till March 15.

S Narayanan, member secretary, HSPCB, said, “As early as two weeks ago, we wrote to the deputy commissioners of these five districts, outlining very clearly the role each department will have to play.”

He added, “While our regional officers in each district will be tasked with surveillance and taking punitive action, the power department will have as much of a role in ensuring the ban’s success.”

KC Agarwal, chief engineer, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, confirmed this, saying, “We have been instructed by the HSPCB to ensure 24x7 electricity supply across the grid, which we will endeavour to do, particularly as many people will be working from home due to Covid-19. Any household or establishment eligible for a permanent electricity connection will receive one, but enforcing the ban on DG sets directly is not something we have been tasked with.”