Noida seeks ₹430 crore from PMO to combat air pollution

The Noida authority on Monday said said it has sought ₹423.25 crore funds from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in order to take measures to mitigate air pollution in the area.

The Noida authority on Monday said said it has sought ₹423.25 crore funds from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in order to take measures to mitigate air pollution in the area.

Noida and greater Noida has been suffering from air pollution due to dust and debris in the air due to on-going construction at different sites in the city where environment laws are being openly flouted, in Noida, India, on Friday, November 17, 2017. (HT File Photo)

The PMO, on March 17, 2018, had held a meeting in Delhi with top officials of Delhi-NCR on ‘air pollution abatement action plan’. It had directed officials to prepare an action plan and seek funds, if required, for the same.

The PMO is monitoring action plans to mitigate dust pollution across the national capital region and is ready to provide funds for the implementation of action plans that can effectively reduce air pollution. The PMO holds monthly meetings with officials of NCR to ensure all orders issued in this regard are adhered to.

“The authority had earlier prepared a detailed plan for the civic and health departments as to how they require funds to combat air pollution. Now, we have prepared an action plan on how the horticulture department requires funds for it,” Rajiv Tyagi, general manager of the Noida authority, said. The authority has sent the detailed plan to the PMO through the Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate, who is coordinating the issue.

According to the ‘air pollution abatement plan’ of the authority, the health department will require ₹192.50 crore, the civil department, ₹197.71 crore, and the horticulture department, ₹33.04 crore. The authority will develop a dust-free zone in which it will plant grass on patches of soil between footpaths and roads. It has decided to make many arterial roads in the city dust-free zones by planting shrubs and saplings, the total length of which will be 375km. “The dust free zone will not only look beautiful but also not contribute to dust pollution. We will ensure dust does not fly on these roads with proper maintenance,” Tyagi said.

Apart from making the roads dust-free, the authority will take measures such as sweeping the arterial roads with the help of machines and setting up a separate plant to treat construction and demolition material that piles onto road sides or vacant spaces, becoming a nuisance to locals. “The authority has hired Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited for treatment of construction and demolition waste of the city. We have signed a contract with this agency for 15 years. The agency will set up a plant in Sector 140 along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway that will treat 300 metric tonne construction waste daily. The authority will pay ₹497 per tonne for collecting this kind of waste from the city. It will spend ₹81.3 crore on this system,” another official said.

The authority will mechanically sweep and wash a total of 93.89 km of roads with water daily. The roads include MP-1, MP-2, MP-3, service lanes along the Noida Expressway, parts of Dadri Road and some stretches in sectors 74, 75, 77, 78 and 117, among others.

The authority will spend ₹28.79 crore for the next five years on mechanical sweeping. “These steps will help us make the city a dust-free zone,” Tyagi said.