Industries having high pollution load submit affidavits to HSPCB

Nearly 80% industries in Gurugram having a high air pollution load have submitted undertakings with the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) on using the

Nearly 80% industries in Gurugram having a high air pollution load have submitted undertakings with the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) on using the approved fuels to run their units.

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Shakti Singh, regional officer, HSPCB, South Gurugram, also the nodal officer for Grap implementation said, “There are almost 500 industrial units in Gurugram that fall under red and orange categories. Of these, nearly 80% have submitted their undertakings.” On October 15, the HSPCB issued a letter to all units falling within the jurisdiction of HSPCB’s south region, asking them to provide an undertaking.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) guidelines, if the pollution index score of an industry that measures the pollution load is above 60 then the unit falls under the red category. In orange category, the pollution index score is between 41 to 50. For the green category it has to be between 21 to 40.

In an order letter issued by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) for the implementation Graded Response Action Plan (Grap) to prevent air pollution from slipping to very poor to severe category, industries particularly in the red and orange categories were directed to provide an undertaking to the pollution control board on using authorised fuel. Also, they have been asked not to operate without adequate pollution-control measures.

According to Singh, at least 30 departments in the district have been asked to designate nodal officers from their respective departments for Grap implementation. On Friday, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) imposed a fine of ₹63,000 for violating Grap norms. Out of this, ₹13,000 has been imposed on burning garbage and ₹50,000 for burning biomass.